Agoraphobic: Inside Out is a day in the life of someone suffering a fear of the outside. Counting step by step, pushing himself to go outside, if only for a moment. How difficult it would be for anyone suffering from this to have the strength to fight through it.

For me, the story was too short and I was left wanting more. The author did give us hints of how the character had gotten to that point...slowly retreating from social situations and eventually becoming a recluse, how family and friends had given up trying to understand or help. She did an excellent job showing the struggles with trying to improve himself while battling this very real fear. While others might not believe it real or understand it doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. ( )

Descriptive!

AGORAPHOBIC: INSIDE OUT is a psychological suspense short story (11 pages) by Sara Secora.

As the title suggests, this story provides a glimpse into the mind of an agoraphobic as he leaves his residence for his daily outside time.

Told in 3rd-person, past tense, AGORAPHOBIC did indeed fulfill the promise of the title, though the writing contained far too many filters, far too much telling (he considered, it felt, he wondered, etc), and far too much info coming from the author rather than from the main character himself for me to invest in his struggle and truly feel his anxiety. I also had a hard time empathizing with him, because I had no idea what his motivation to leave his house was until the very end. The character never looked toward his goal as he inched himself toward the door, which seemed unreal considering his struggle. An offhand mention of an ambulance hinted there may be some cause for urgency or something interesting to look forward to, but ultimately, that vivid detail went unexplored and turned out to be an irrelevant disappointment.

With this near-omniscient feel and no apparent motivation, this story felt more like a college essay and a study into descriptive writing rather than a suspenseful short story.

Though I'd hoped for more of a Ray Bradbury-esque suspense, I did enjoy the vivid descriptions, and I think this story would appeal to fans of upmarket fiction and lyrical stories.

This book earns 2 North of Normal stars! ( )

I think most of us fear something, but you would have to walk a mile in Kade’s shoes to understand his terror of the outside world. I kept hoping he would take just one more step…

I think Sara Secora did a wonderful job describing his Agoraphic illness, and it is an illness.

So…be careful of judging someone for their idiosyncracies…it could happen to you. ( )