Kyle Beachy turns the coming-of-age story on its head in his debut. His writing is propulsive and unique without being forced, yet eminently readable. He explores the decay of the American city and family, the painful inevitability of friends and lovers drifting apart, and the ongoing difficulty of denying base appetites, all interwoven with baseball. Beachy's prose is impressive and pulls the reader into the narrative.
Perfect for fans of Barbarian Days, this memoir in essays follows one man's decade-long quest to uncover the hidden meaning of skateboarding, and explores how this search led unexpectedly to insights on marriage, love, loss, American invention, and growing old.
Potter Mays retreats immediately after college graduation to the safe house of his childhood home. Each morning his mother makes him eggs just the way he likes them. His father ("not to pressure") promises to help him find a job. His best friend, Stuart, an Independent Thought Contractor working out of his parents' lavish pool house, is willing to serve as a kind of life coach, provided, of course, that Potter pays for his services all summer