Literary Fiction
Lucky Strikes and Bubble Gum
A coming-of-age novel set in suburban 1983, following 16-year-old Van Cassidy through a summer of first love, family grief, and teenage isolation. His Vietnam-veteran father is dying of cancer, and Van processes his trauma through music — vinyl records, mixtapes, and the analog culture of the era.
At its core, this is a story about finding your voice when the world is falling apart, and learning that growing up means accepting the imperfect, beautiful mess of being human.