Staying Alive

"Forgiveness is not the same as denying the abuse ever happened..."

Elias Young is a recent college graduate that has all but given up on his dreams of being a successful artist. He meets other men anonymously through dating apps and deals with his loneliness by heavily drinking until he passes out.

One day he gets an unexpected email from his estranged father, reminding him of the abuse and neglect he had to endure as a child. He tries to ignore this by starting a chaotic relationship with Christopher Peters, who is wild, bold, and gives Elias the attention he craves. However, things change when he gets word that his father has one month left to live.

Is this the last chance he has to seek the closure he desperately needs? How can he forgive those who abandoned him when he needed them the most? With his relationship quickly unraveling, Elias must learn to accept his past and fight for himself before it is too late.

Merwin McCrady writes gay contemporary fiction with a slant toward self empowerment. Staying Alive is his debut novel.