The Strangest of Places

By Chris Campbell

Book Overview

"Chris Campbell's The Strangest of Places deftly weaves together a girl's coming-of-age story and a Phish fan's search for meaningful community. Spunky, honest, and vulnerable, its heroine, Autumn MacLeod, stands in a long tradition of alienated American teenagers telling us the truth of things. Huck Finn and Holden Caulfield would have loved this book. You will, too." -- Nicholas Bromell Professor Emeritus University of Massachusetts - Amherst An NPR review of the film adaptation of Judy Blume's Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret described it as "the story of one girl, at one moment, with one group of friends, who experiences early adolescence in a way particular to her. And that's what makes it compelling." If you swapped "early adolescence" for "early adulthood," the same could be said of The Strangest of Places . It's 1993 and eighteen-year-old Autumn MacLeod has a lot on her mind. An absent father, a depressed, emotionally unavailable mother, and vicious middle school mean girls have all contributed to Autumn's reticence to not only trust in others, but believe in herself. Shortly after Autumn is introduced to Phish, and their community of like-minded music lovers, she meets John Bryan. John can tell right away that Autumn is not like other girls. As she navigates the chaos, confusion and uncertainty of her first few years post-high school, Autumn begins to discover not only who she is, but how she came to be as she is. From untangling generational trauma knots, to uncovering the truth behind her father's intentional abandonment, to acknowledging the emotional eating issues she developed to cope with being a neglected "latch key kid," Autumn starts to realize that the self-preservation tactics she's been relying on come with a hefty price. John's unwavering interest in pursuing a relationship with her will challenge Autumn to choose between the emotional safety of letting him pass by, or taking a risk on the vulnerability that comes with letting yourself fall in love. For more about this book, including trigger warnings, visit https://www.chriscampbellauthor.com and check out The Rabbit Hole (blog).

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0BHTN36PD
• ISBN13: 9798353675037
• Release Date: September 2022
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 276 Pages
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.7" x 6.0"