Meet Jim Morrison–not the lead singer of the Doors who died a rock ‘n’ roll death in 1971, but a chubby seventeen-year-old living in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, born days after the singer’s death. Jim, or Jimmy, as most people call him, has been living a largely invisible life, overshadowed by his older brother, Mike, popular and charismatic, and his father, Fort, a stern and unyielding engineer. But everything changes the night the local public library explodes, with pieces of books and catalogue cards falling like snow from the dark sky. Jimmy is first on the scene with his father and it’s soon clear that Mike had been in the library when it exploded. Mike’s death upends the Morrisons’ suburban life and any sense of normalcy is destroyed. Their mother, Filomena, is nearly catatonic with shock, and Jimmy must become his much younger brother’s nanny, taking him to preschool every day and uncomfortably hanging out with a gang of mothers, watching them breastfeed and talking about peanut allergies. The cause of the library explosion remains mysterious, and Jimmy tries to help his father unofficially gather evidence at the site. Add to this his duties surrounding his mother’s idea to have a birthday party for his dead brother, and Jimmy finds himself busier and, bizarrely, happier than he’s ever been.
Watch the book trailer for Don’t Be Afraid.
“A beautiful meditation on loss, grief and the stubborn resilience of families.”
— Nino Ricci, author of The Origin of Species
“Don’t Be Afraid is an extraordinary novel, utterly compelling from the first page to the last. Portraying lovable characters in varying degrees of crisis, the novel is tender, wise and hilariously funny. Hayward is the fine and rare writer—like Richler in Solomon Gursky or Barney’s Version—who makes us laugh all the while illuminating with compassion and candour the truths of the human heart.”
— Timothy Taylor, author of Stanley Park
“Don’t Be Afraid broke my heart in the very best way. That is, the funny/sad way. Indeed, Steven Hayward may just be the best funny/sad writer we have. Go on. Let him break your heart.”
— Andrew Pyper, author of The Killing Circle
“A hilarious and quietly subversive tour of post-industrial American suburban life. The fictional Jim Morrison in Don’t Be Afraid is more interesting than the real Jim Morrison ever was.”
— Stephen Marche, author of Raymond and Hannah
“Don’t Be Afraid is an acutely smart and sensitive portrayal of a youth who is forced to confront the inexplicable death of a family member. Steven Hayward is an outstanding writer with a special talent for exploring the big existential questions through comic virtuosity and the artful rendering of voice.”
— David Chariandy, author of Soucouyant