by Bruce Weber
First published 2016
Link Porter sits in his cramped, darkened apartment, curtains drawn against the world outside. The Iraq war veteran cannot face open spaces, bright lights, loud sounds, or crowds without panic seizing him. He fills his isolation by devouring psychology textbooks and dissecting his own mind with clinical precision. Porter convinces himself this fortress of solitude protects him from the terrors that lurk beyond his door. But fate refuses to respect the boundaries he has built. On an ordinary Saturday afternoon, something arrives that will force Porter to confront the truth he has been avoiding. A man cannot hide from life indefinitely. Sometimes destiny tracks you down with the persistence of a hunting hound, and escape becomes impossible. Porter must face the choice between the safety of his self-imposed prison and the dangerous possibility of stepping back into the world that broke him.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, contemporary, psychological-thriller
Vibes: dark, intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: confronting-the-past, self-imposed-exile
Setting: Iraq
Period: 21st-century
270 pages · Paperback · CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Content warnings: anxiety, depression, mental-illness