In Erica Kent's evocative novel Black Dog, we journey through the turbulent landscapes of adolescence, loss, and the blurry lines between reality and dream. It' s 1980, and eleven-year-old Jessica Ryder wakes up to discover that John Lennon has been killed. In a misguided effort to assuage her grief, her father shares a beer with her, marking the beginning of a years-long dance with drugs and booze that will lead her down a harrowing, and sometimes darkly humorous, path. Jessica' s full of contradictions: irreverent but romantic, smart but short-sighted, damaged but resilient. She grapples with the weight of tragedy and life, scrapes bottom, and finally discovers the elusive route to recovery, along with a hard truth: the black dog of addiction doesn' t die. Both shadows and shafts of light cut through Jessica' s story as it spans across the 1980' s. Kent's lyrical prose and poignant storytelling create a haunting and unforgettable portrait of growing up in a world both chaotic and beautiful.
