Michael Lowenthal is the author of four novels—The Same Embrace, Avoidance, Charity Girl, and The Paternity Test—and a story collection, Sex with Strangers. His writing has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Tin House, The Rumpus, Ploughshares, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and many anthologies. The recipient of fellowships from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, the MacDowell Colony, and the Mass Cultural Council, he lives in Boston, where he works as an editor and writing coach. His most recent book, the memoir-in-essays Place Envy, was published in 2026.
You can find him online at www.MichaelLowenthal.com.
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Scott Heim is the author of Mysterious Skin. NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE DIRECTED BY GREGG ARAKI AND STARRING BRADY CORBET, JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT, ELISABETH SHUE, and MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG
“Wrenching . . . powerfully sensuous.”—New York Times
"As searing and unforgettable as an electric shock."—Kirkus Reviews
As timely and compelling as when it was first published more than three decades ago, Scott Heim’s propulsive novel about abuse and its aftereffects in the lives of two teenage boys is an honest and searing exploration of memory, survival, friendship, and the power of truth.
At the age of eight, Brian Lackey is found bleeding under the crawl space of his house, having endured something so traumatic that he has blacked out an entire five-hour period. During the following years he slowly recalls details from that night, fragments that hint at yet cannot explain what happened to him, leaving him to believe that he may have been the victim of an alien encounter.
Neil McCormick is fully aware of the events from that summer of 1981. Wise beyond his years, curious about his developing sexuality, Neil found what he perceived to be love and guidance from his baseball coach. Now, ten years later, he is a teenage hustler, unaware of the dangerous path he’s on. His recklessness is governed by idealized memories of his coach, memories that unexpectedly change when Brian comes to Neil for help and, ultimately, the truth.