Run J Run

Book excerpt: Jeremy, a high school English teacher coming to grips with a shattered marriage and haunted by the brother he lost, unexpectedly falls in love with his best friend, Zak. Attractive, wildly unconventional, and happy in an open relationship with his partner Annie, Zak seems to embody everything missing from Jeremy's life, but when the arrest and death of a marginalized student at the Brooklyn high school where they both teach trigger Zak's mental breakdown and slow descent, Jeremy and Annie are compelled to cross boundaries, both external and internal, in a desperate attempt to save him."This gripping story, written with a great deal of graphic detail, compassion, drama, and a detailed sense of place, takes us into the deepest recesses of trauma and makes us look at family and therapy in unconventional but convincing ways. It is intricately plotted and unpredictable." H. Nigel Thomas, author of No Safeguards, finalist for the Paragraphe Hugh MacLennan Prize for fiction"Run J Run is a compelling chronicle of a tumultuous, erotically charged friendship imperilled by madness. Sokol charts these struggles expertly and compassionately, even as her narrative pushes buttons, defies categories and conventions, and breaks rules...." David Demchuk, author of The Bone Mother, nominee for the Giller Prize and winner of the Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Fiction of the Fantastic"Sokol dares to go to that unexplored place where mental illness intersects with the complexities of sexuality and the result is surprisingly hopeful. The book's social critique is not lost in abstract theory but is solidly rooted in character. There are living breathing people here." Barry Webster, author of The Lava in My Bones, finalist for the Lambda Literary Award"Run J Run is a sophisticated depiction of sexual awakening and mental illness. It seamlessly navigates the deeply personal and political with a scopious understanding of the human psyche. Marvellous, compelling and vital." Arshad Kahn, filmmaker