Margins
Stray book cover
Stray
2010
First Published
3.54
Average Rating
238
Number of Pages

Stray traces the harrowing paths of addicts at the West Oaks treatment center, the stray pets at the next door animal shelter, and the caregivers who serve them both. After an alcohol-induced seizure during his father's funeral, Thomas Cleaves remains sober and becomes a therapist to help others just like him recover from their addiction. After trying to start a family, his wife has a miscarriage on the same day a client of his dies from an overdose, and he fears that the addicts he treats must have infected her womb. When his wife becomes pregnant again, and the sickness and despair of his clients worsen, Tom becomes terrified and is in desperate need of a client to give him some hope. James White is one such client. James is a newly orphaned alcoholic dead bent on drinking again until he finds a job at the Argos animal shelter. It is here that he meets the mystical Rachel who rescues strays, cleans cages, but has the unfortunate duty of putting some to sleep by lethal injection. Can James find a reason to live by helping her rescue the throw-away pets of the city? The lives of Tom and James, along with some incredibly vivid characters from the streets of Detroit, are intricately woven together, creating a novel that has received excellent reviews and is certain to be remembered. Stray has been downloaded over 10,000 times and is a gritty novel with an edge yet surprisingly gentle and sweet. An “intense read that will change your perspectives of addiction,” Stray illustrates the universal longing in all of us as we look for a safe place that feels like home.

Avg Rating
3.54
Number of Ratings
111
5 STARS
23%
4 STARS
31%
3 STARS
28%
2 STARS
13%
1 STARS
5%
goodreads

Author

Mark Matthews
Mark Matthews
Author · 14 books
Mark Matthews is the author of novels such as On the Lips of Children, All Smoke Rises, and Milk-Blood, as well as the editor of Lullabies for Suffering and Garden of Fiends. In June of 2021, he was nominated for a Shirley Jackson Award. His newest work, The Hobgoblin of Little Minds, was published in January, 2021. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and a licensed professional counselor who has worked in behavioral health for over 20 years. Reach him at WickedRunPress@gmail.com
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