"Captivating, moving and always observant, Garth Stein leads us through this deep-and often wrenching-family drama with confidence and deftness that sweep us in from the instant we meet unforgettable Evan. Whether laughing or wiping tears from our cheeks, page after page, all I can say is: What a wonderful, beautiful book; I will never forget it!"-Ben Sherwood, author of The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud
"Garth Stein brings a distinctly wise and modern voice to a timeless tale of fathers and sons and the choices we all face. His characters are as real and moody as the wet streets and spotty charcoal skyline of the setting-present-day Seattle-and the story's resolution resonates with the lingering satisfaction of all great literature."-Mark Lindquist, author of Never Mind Nirvana
Evan had a hit single. But that was eight years ago. Thirty-one now, he's drifting, playing in a local band and teaching middle-aged guys to coax music from an electric guitar.
Beset at a young age with a life-threatening form of epilepsy, he's kept his condition a secret, even from his bandmates. Only his family knows, and they don't know why he had the accident that caused it. Nor has he revealed his deepest secret: At 17, Evan got his high-school sweetheart pregnant. Then, her conservative parents whisked her out of Seattle and out of Evan's life.
Now, 14 years on, he experiences unplanned parenthood when he undertakes to raise the resentful teenage son he's never known. Evan has a second chance at fatherhood but possesses none of the qualities of a traditional father. He has to learn, just as his son has to learn to love him. Neither is easy.
Offbeat and disarming, How Evan Broke His Head and Other Secrets portrays a contemporary American family with unfailing honesty. Maybe being a father means being there for your child, no matter how belatedly you arrive.
Garth Stein, a former documentary filmmaker, was co-producer of the Academy Award-winning short film The Lunch Date and director of When Your Head's Not a Head, It's a Nut, which chronicles his sister's brain surgery for epilepsy. How Evan Broke His Head and Other Secrets i
