From the author of an Amazon Canada Award for Best First Novel and Leacock Prize nominee for Humor, this moving story about a young man confronting a long-buried family secret, his tumultuous relationship with his father, and the girl who ties it all together.
Between the pages of his grief, Bill placed a single flower that he picked from a bouquet that included all the things that I had caused. This flower was special because on its petals it was written: I was the reason my mother left.After young Freddie defends his childhood friend Saskia in a fist fight, he suddenly realizes that the story of his mother's disappearance was a lie. Not only that, but Saskia is connected to it - the girl he loves was present on the day his mother passed away, ten years ago.
As Freddie tries to understand how he and Saskia are related to an incident in their childhood, his relationship with his father, Bill, becomes increasingly strained.Freddie was unable to accept the truth about his family's hidden secrets, so he left home, intending to live an isolated life. He hid in a remote jungle camp, in small-town restaurants, and in a modest apartment in East Vancouver with a view of the mountains. But as the years passed, the unanswered questions about that incident weighed heavily on Freddy's mind, and he realized that peace required reconnecting with the loved ones he had tried to forget.Through humorous and sentimental prose, Drake returns to the characters Freddy and Saskia from his novel Do You Think That's Weird? It explores the trap of false narratives, the complexity of family secrets, and the hope found in a world of polished truths.
“A poignant and deeply human coming-of-age novel that follows Freddy – an unforgettable character that readers will identify with as he navigates memory, truth, and the relationships that shape his understanding of the world.”
