The Shame of What We Are
by Sam Gridley
with illustrations by Tom Jackson
The 1950s were no idyllic Ozzie and Harriet episode, especially for a shy kid like Art Dennison. As Art grows up with a father who can explode in rage and a mother who just doesn’t fit the required role, his life sometimes feels surreal. The “pieces” of this slyly humorous, compassionate novel reflect Art’s fragmentary experience in a family always on the move—from one temporary home to another, from East Coast to West, always seeking the elusive American dream.
"superbly well-crafted" —Beth Kephart, National Book Award nominee
"We feel . . . the presence of wisdom woven throughout this ultimately moving, generously constructed book." —Robin Black, author of If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This and Life Drawing
"Filled with a self-deprecating humor, and stark, if not painful, insights into how one survives in a precarious environment, this novel slices open the veins of a confused boy and allows the reader to walk a decade inside his skin." —Foreword Reviews
Fiction
199 pages, 2010
paperback / $12.95 / ISBN 978-0-9788636-4-7
e-book / $9.99 / ISBN 978-0-9788636-6-1
by Sam Gridley
with illustrations by Tom Jackson
The 1950s were no idyllic Ozzie and Harriet episode, especially for a shy kid like Art Dennison. As Art grows up with a father who can explode in rage and a mother who just doesn’t fit the required role, his life sometimes feels surreal. The “pieces” of this slyly humorous, compassionate novel reflect Art’s fragmentary experience in a family always on the move—from one temporary home to another, from East Coast to West, always seeking the elusive American dream.
"superbly well-crafted" —Beth Kephart, National Book Award nominee
"We feel . . . the presence of wisdom woven throughout this ultimately moving, generously constructed book." —Robin Black, author of If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This and Life Drawing
"Filled with a self-deprecating humor, and stark, if not painful, insights into how one survives in a precarious environment, this novel slices open the veins of a confused boy and allows the reader to walk a decade inside his skin." —Foreword Reviews
Fiction
199 pages, 2010
paperback / $12.95 / ISBN 978-0-9788636-4-7
e-book / $9.99 / ISBN 978-0-9788636-6-1
