‘Gerd, the Girl with Too Many Arms’
— Andrew Sargus Klein
I did not know Zach Doss, who passed away unexpectedly last week. I wish I had. Even a glance at the subsequent outpouring of grief and love would show you a person who cared deeply and gave freely.
I did not know his writing until after his passing, which is a shame, because I wish I could tell him how much I love ‘Gerd, the Girl with Too Many Arms,’ published in Paper Darts. The story employs the sort of fabulism that can get just as close to a truth than any other form.
This line, near the end, stopped me cold, as if the entire story was built around this one moment:
The girl with too many arms believes that every mother should have one hand for each of her daughter’s hands.
It’s worth your time exploring his archive of writing. And if you are at all moved by this story (his life’s story, the short story, both), and have a few dollars to spare, Zach’s parents have asked the literary community to support Mildred’s Umbrella, a Houston-based non-profit theatre company that seeks to empower women.