First published 2015
Fourteen-year-old Marjorie Barrett starts showing symptoms that doctors diagnose as acute schizophrenia. Her parents watch helplessly as their suburban New England home transforms into something unrecognizable. With medical treatments failing and bills mounting, the family turns to Father Wanderly, who believes Marjorie suffers from demonic possession. The priest arranges both an exorcism and a television deal. Soon the Barretts become stars of "The Possession," a reality show that documents their ordeal. The cameras roll as Marjorie's condition worsens and family tensions explode. Fifteen years after a tragic conclusion, eight-year-old Merry Barrett has grown up. A bestselling author seeks her out for an interview about those terrible months. As Merry recounts her memories, discrepancies emerge between what she remembers and what millions of viewers saw on television. Her recollections reveal buried truths about her family and force questions about the nature of what really happened in their house.
Genres: mystery, horror, supernatural, psychological-thriller
Vibes: dark, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: New England
Period: Fifteen Years Ago
287 pages · Hardcover · William Morrow
Content warnings: mental-illness