Selective mutism is an anxiety-driven condition, not oppositional behavior, where individuals cannot speak in certain situations despite normal speaking ability.
Beatriz Serrano's 'Discontent' Is Jezebel's November Book Club Pick
Marisa tolerates a well-paid ad-agency job that breeds apathy and discomfort, mixing darkly comic corporate absurdity with anxiety, malaise, and rare human connection.
Social gatherings trigger intense, chronic anxiety, producing persistent hyper-awareness, self-consciousness, and a deep feeling of displacement when raising children in an ex-husband's hometown.