Everyone Has a Summer That Sucks intertwines childhood innocence with the haunting weight of family secrets. With dual timelines—the main protagonist’s heartbreaking summer of 1988 and the turbulent events surrounding her aunt during the summer of 1972—create a deeply layered narrative that’s both intimate and universal. The nonlinear discovery with character revelations that unfold gradually, makes for a compelling and thought-provoking read. Yet, the story is more than a simple good vs. evil, but instead explores themes of devotion vs. obligation, protection vs. abandonment. A young girl’s journey of loss and resilience, alongside her father’s struggle to confront long-buried trauma, gives the book an emotional resonance that stays with readers long after the final page.

Summertime, 1988, 12-year-old Caroline Jamieson and her cousin Mitch find a small cross near the home where their fathers, and their Aunt Mabel, grew up; a cross bearing the date March 24, 1972. The children dream up theories about its origin and let their discovery saturate their imaginations until a tragic accident devastates Caroline and rips all the joy from her heart. 

Flash back to spring 1972, the Roe v. Wade decision is seven months away and an upper middle-class family is about to be slammed into varying degrees of lunacy. Mabel Jamieson, the youngest of four siblings, has an illegal abortion leaving her maimed and unconscious. Though unknown to her at the time, Mabel’s older brother, Jasper, followed her the night she went to see a man masquerading as a doctor, and was able to deliver her cataleptic body safely home. Filled with rage and misinterpreted information, Jasper swears to avenge his sister’s wrongdoing and spends years sifting his way through seemingly impossible implications until he finds the man responsible isn’t who he thought.

Drawn from real-life accounts and cherished memories, the author’s authenticity adds to the narrative, elevating it into something truly heartfelt and memorable. This is the kind of novel that not only tugs at the soul but also invites reflection on personal beliefs and family bonds. It’s a story about relationships—those that exist and those that never had a chance to flourish for one reason or another.

NOTE Everyone Has a Summer That Sucks is a consolidation and content rework of The Caretakers, published in 2011. A majority of the original content is repurposed but there is a significant amount of new material, which called for republishing under a new title—the updates give the reader a broader understanding of the storyline in preparation of the upcoming sequel. Additionally, it is fully edited to address inconsistencies and first-draft errors. I hope you’ll consider reading the revised version. Thank you.