When you walk a mile in someone else’s shoes, a pumice stone and a box of Band-Aids are usually in order.

Not so when kicking back with Jill McCorkle’s Going Away Shoes, a collection of stories about women facing tired marriages, unrequited love, and the uneasy passing of time.

It’s by no means a mascara-smudger, but it is motivating. Heroines improve their lives by taking big steps — like Ann, a conflicted soul who visits her childhood home to confront a dark memory from her youth.

And Sarah, who, when disaster strikes, spends time with a former boyfriend to heal through old memories. Upon finding a pair of muddy hunting boots, an unnamed narrator invents a guy (flaws and all) for a fictitious romantic relationship.

Shoe you can relate.

Available online at amazon.com or at your local bookstore.

Photo: Courtesy of Algonquin Books