Adrift

I’m not sure of the last time my nerves felt this jangled after finishing a book. Don’t get me wrong … it’s excellent and well-worth the read, but it literally gave me a nightmare after finishing it last night!

Drew, his wife Peggy and their 14-year-old son Samson live on a canal boat moored on a fictional Midwest canal near Cairo, Illinois.  Drew is a harshly disciplined aspiring author who works a blue collar day job while chasing the elusive success that he felt sure would come after receiving the Hugh Higgins Memorial Prize for Most Promising Writer more than 15 years ago. His trophy takes pride of place on his spotless desk, whose always locked drawers mirror his inaccessible affection.

Drew has rules. Lots of them. He controls the money, what they’ll eat for dinner and when Peggy and Samson need to go to bed. It must be absolutely quiet when he writes what will surely be a success this time. He’ll decide where the boat is anchored, how long it’s anchored there and if they’ll have neighbors. It’s never long before he moves them even further away from anyone.

Whatever talent Drew may lack for getting published, he more than makes up for with his skill at manipulating and gaslighting Peggy. He’s a MASTER at that. He’s emotionally cruel to both her and Samson, using critical words more skillfully than his favorite pocketknife.

So what happens to the family dynamic when Peggy secretly writes a book that finds its way to an interested publisher?  (This is the part where you’ll want to do some deep breathing or go touch grass for a few minutes to calm down.) I wasn’t expecting where it went!

I know this all sounds very dark and gloomy, and I’m not going to say it’s an easy book to read, because it’s dysfunction at its most raw and troubling. Having said that, though, this book also offers genuine moments of kindness and hope as Peggy slowly awakens to the life she’s in and Samson tries to navigate towards the future he wants. Mom and son may be bonded through trauma, but their tender love and concern for each other made me care for them so much!

This is my first Will Dean book and I’m impressed. He taps into the palpable tension between Drew, Peggy and Samson so well that I found it hard to be still while reading this. I had ridiculous amounts of built-up energy in my body! Most of it, I confess, was my desire to do very bad things to Drew, but I digress …

This book highlights the kind of insidious abuse whose scars aren’t physical but whose damage disfigures in unseen ways that often never fully heal. It’s painfully real, it’s very well-written and it may take me a minute to recover from the journey it took me on, but it was worth it!

★★★★ ½ 

 

Thanks to Atria/Emily Bestler Books, NetGalley and author Will Dean for this digital ARC to honestly review. It’s out now.