"Tom Jenks has written an utterly convincing and, at times, almost unbearably suspenseful novel of domestic disintegration; of the way in which happiness shades into unhappiness, our most mysterious of losses."

 — Joyce Carol Oates
 

"All too rarely do contemporary writers explore the emotional consequences of the changing men's and women's social roles as felt by a man, but Tom Jenks does."

 — The Seattle Times
 

"Tom Jenks is a stunning writer."

 — Bob Shacochis
 

"Our Happiness is a story of love and loss with a tender, ironic vision. I love the strong, resilient voice of it, its superb sense of the country it celebrates, its rough grace."

 — Mary Lee Settle
 

"It covers the ground of a lost Eden, a kind of careless youthful paradise, in great lyric strides."

 — James Salter
 

"A cutting elegy on marriage, success, the collapse of the American dream."

 — Stephen Wright

"Told in lyrical flashbacks, this well-conceived memoir examines guilt, innocence, and retribution. By his own admission, Carl Freeman is a "nice" man, faithful to wife Kath and loving toward son Owen. Minimally educated but innately intelligent, he can't enjoy his new success in the big city. Why? The perpetrator of a tragic deed, Carl once accidentally killed a stranger — a poor country 'redneck.' He buried him and, taking no responsibility, told no one. Now, years later, his secret causes the breakup of all that is good in Carl's life. Reminiscent of To Kill a Mockingbird and highly recommended."


— Ellen R. Cohen, Library Journal



       >  Our Happiness is available from Amazon.