by
Brianna Barnes is sixteen, intelligent, sensitive, and in love. Things should be perfect. Except the man who adores her is thirty-seven. . . and her high school guidance counselor. When the thrill of their illicit relationship comes crashing down, Brianna's counselor, Trent Reynolds is thrown into prison and her life into turmoil. Learning to survive behind bars as a convicted sex offender, Trent struggles to fathom how things went so wrong. Could it be linked to what a family friend did to him as a child? Or to his father's inexplicable brutality towards his only son? What comes next for Trent, his family, and his victim is completely unexpected. Prison psychiatrist Edmond Thackery is hopeful even against tremendous odds, that Trent can overcome a lifetime of lies, abuse, and self-deception. Outside, those closest to Trent try to escape their own prisons in the aftermath of what his actions bring to light. A bold, gripping, and nuanced novel about the human capacity for deplorable acts, redemption and transformation.
When I fell in love with you, I was a child. I felt like an adult, you treated me like one, and so I behaved and believed I was, but I wasn’t. Why didn’t you honor and respect the child the way you did the woman you forced me to become? I would have respected you far more if you had.
READ MORELinda tells me that while what you and I shared was very real, I couldn’t process it with the maturity that the depth of our love demanded. Does that make sense? It’s starting to for me. I fell in love with your intellect, your sense of humor, your life experience, the wonderful dinners, the depth of our conversations, the amazing sex, and dreams of a future together. But these were all things that I should have known nothing about at ages fifteen and sixteen. How could I be anything but in awe of you? I don’t know if you knew the power that you held over me, but you should have. When I should have been dating guys with acne and homework and dreams of playing in the NHL, I was dating someone who had left those things behind years ago. How could any high school boy measure up to you? Did you know all of this and choose to pursue me anyway? Did you use that power to overwhelm me, to seduce me? I’m not really expecting an answer, but God, I’d like to know. I would like to know—to believe, I suppose—that I was more than just a conquest to you. I hope I was. Otherwise, I’ll feel so stupid. So duped. So foolish.
COLLAPSEScott Rivers (Gabriola Island, BC) wrote:“They Flutter Behind You is a thought provoking, powerful exposé of the human condition. Brian Douglas has woven together a story with characters who grab you the moment you meet them. As masterfully written as it is lyrical; radiating with raw emotion. It is a difficult story to pick up and perhaps more difficult to put down.”
“Brian Douglas’ novel, They Flutter Behind You, is gorgeously written, soulful and deeply existential. A poetically raw depiction of love and conflict, abuse and redemption. As someone who has experienced much of what the central character endures, I was profoundly moved by the horror and transcendent beauty of this story. I hope this novel is widely read. It is beautiful.”
