Lost My Way in the Darkness: A Novel

By Mack Ames

A modern novel with themes polite society won't discuss openly is not what most people expect from authors like Mack Ames. Readers have expressed everything from shock to admiration for how Ames directly addresses all-too-real issues in preteen and teen lives, including bullying, isolation, abuse, neglect, domestic violence, and more. From nurses to a veteran of World War II, from atheists, agnostics, and multiple faiths to a retired Christian pastor, and from people living freely in society to inmates in prison, the response boils down to this: Lost My Way in the Darkness is a book that makes the reader turn the page to see what happens next. More than one has said, "This is a book that needed to be written."

Jack Bannister wrestles with issues of life, loss, trust, and faith. Jack is 8 when his mother dies in an accident and his faith in God withers. When his father decides that young Jack isn't making good choices where they're living, they move to Newtowne, 120 miles to the east of the state's largest city, and the Bannisters settle into rural Maine to restart their lives. No longer a city boy, Jack makes friends with neighbors Blake and Vince. They prove that no matter where you go, trouble can find you, but they feed his need to belong, while school friend Andy is a positive influence. Jack's loyalty is tested when the others bully Andy, and then force Jack to 'prove' himself to them as 'worthy' of being in their gang.

As he matures, he must decide if God can be trusted. From witnessing abuse in the lives of friends to experiencing firsthand the injustice of hypocrisy, Jack is confronted repeatedly with life's greatest choice: Trust in God or reject forever the faith that his beloved mother found so important.

Will Jack Bannister stay lost in the darkness, or will he find The Way?

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B09RMBJBRF
• ISBN13: 9798411275414
• Release Date: February 2022
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 334 Pages
• Weight: 0.99 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"