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Resurrect the Dead
Roger is the only father Alex has ever known, although he’s not much of a father. Years after coming back from Vietnam, Roger is severely disabled, and dependent on Alex just to get by every day. A loner by nature, Alex hardly notices that he doesn’t lead a normal teenage life. Dealing with Roger’s mental breakdowns is a routine part of his existence. Heavy metal is one of his only escapes, as well as the clearing in the woods behind his trailer park. The clearing is a space that feels like his own private world, and it’s also his special place with Alyssa, his best and only friend.
With every day that passes, Roger’s health fails a little more, and Alex begins to fixate on the big questions that Roger has always Where is Alex’s mother? Why can he barely remember her? And why did she abandon her young son so long ago? When Alex and Alyssa finally get the chance to run away together, Alex decides to investigate his mother’s past and he finds something he never expected. The truth shatters him to the core, and triggers a chain of events that has explosive consequences for everyone, setting Alex on a fated path that changes him forever.
With every day that passes, Roger’s health fails a little more, and Alex begins to fixate on the big questions that Roger has always Where is Alex’s mother? Why can he barely remember her? And why did she abandon her young son so long ago? When Alex and Alyssa finally get the chance to run away together, Alex decides to investigate his mother’s past and he finds something he never expected. The truth shatters him to the core, and triggers a chain of events that has explosive consequences for everyone, setting Alex on a fated path that changes him forever.
253 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 9, 2024
8 people are currently reading
5 people want to read
About the author
Lauren Sapala
14 books378 followersLauren Sapala is a writing coach who specializes in coaching introverted, intuitive writers. She founded the WriteCity writing groups in Seattle and San Francisco and currently blogs about writing and creativity at www.laurensapala.com.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 22, 2025
I read Resurrect the Dead by Lauren and as usual with all her fiction books, I loved it. I’m one of those number 1 fans if I may. This story is dark and explores themes of loss, identity, and the search for truth. At its core, the book shows us the complexities of father-son relationships, grief, and the emotional turmoil that often accompanies personal and family crises. Which for some reason for me it shares some thematic similarities with The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, particularly in its portrayal of the disillusionment of youth. Like Holden Caulfield, Alex wrestles with his emotions and struggles to find a sense of purpose as he navigates the complexities of adulthood, but his conflict is more focused on unraveling the mysteries of his family which include his disabled Vietnam War veteran father, Rogerand a growing curiosity about his mother, who left when he was young.
The novel focuses on the deep emotional pain that can come from unresolved family issues. The book is a coming-of-age story but in a more profound way. It’s an emotional odyssey into what it means to face the harshest realities of one’s life, including the painful realization that the truth often comes with unbearable consequences.
This theme is like Ordinary People by Judith Guest and the film adaptation directed by Robert Redford. Both focus on the tension within families, particularly between parents and children, and how trauma can shape relationships. However, Resurrect the Dead stands apart by incorporating the psychological toll of war and the lingering effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on both the father and son. Also, much like films such as Requiem for a Dream, the novel takes a harrowing look at how individuals cope with emotional and mental distress. Sapala’s portrayal of Alex’s descent into his own psychological labyrinth both haunted and captivated me.
Sapala’s writing is always stark and evocative. She blends emotional vulnerability with an unflinching look at the harshness of the human condition. The novel's pacing is slow and deliberate and we go back and forth into the history of these characters This allows the weight of each revelation to settle in before moving to the next. This methodical approach builds tension and works well to reflect the way Alex’s mind works.
I recommend this book for fans of introspective literary fiction and psychological drama. Its exploration of father-son relationships, family trauma, and emotional healing provides a rich reading experience. Read it now, don’t wait.
The novel focuses on the deep emotional pain that can come from unresolved family issues. The book is a coming-of-age story but in a more profound way. It’s an emotional odyssey into what it means to face the harshest realities of one’s life, including the painful realization that the truth often comes with unbearable consequences.
This theme is like Ordinary People by Judith Guest and the film adaptation directed by Robert Redford. Both focus on the tension within families, particularly between parents and children, and how trauma can shape relationships. However, Resurrect the Dead stands apart by incorporating the psychological toll of war and the lingering effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on both the father and son. Also, much like films such as Requiem for a Dream, the novel takes a harrowing look at how individuals cope with emotional and mental distress. Sapala’s portrayal of Alex’s descent into his own psychological labyrinth both haunted and captivated me.
Sapala’s writing is always stark and evocative. She blends emotional vulnerability with an unflinching look at the harshness of the human condition. The novel's pacing is slow and deliberate and we go back and forth into the history of these characters This allows the weight of each revelation to settle in before moving to the next. This methodical approach builds tension and works well to reflect the way Alex’s mind works.
I recommend this book for fans of introspective literary fiction and psychological drama. Its exploration of father-son relationships, family trauma, and emotional healing provides a rich reading experience. Read it now, don’t wait.
April 27, 2025
Resurrect the Dead by Lauren Sapala
Having written for longer than I care to recall these days, I've begun to admire qualities in a writer that I don't often hear spoken about and seldom see much either, and that is, versatility. While most people have heard of George Orwell, for example, not many would think of him if I proffered my thoughts on Keep the Aspidistra Flying or Coming Up for Air, but they might chime in a thought or two when it comes to Animal Farm or, of course, 1984. All things considered, it's pretty bizarre that we don't hear much praise in this fashion, as surely a versatile voice and adaptable ability indicates having honed the craft to quite the high standard, but well, from my little standpoint, it really doesn't seem to be the case.
I've read Sapala's work a handful of times now, but only delved into what I imagine she'd consider her roman-à-clef era, detailed in her West Coast Trilogy, which may have well been originally penned in blood. It's a raw, challenging and heartbroken three-piece where, slowly but surely, Sapala's Leah finds a degree of peace and self-understanding through the very craft it's presented in. Here's hoping the catharsis of writing it was as palpably felt as it read on the page.
Interestingly enough, and outside of a short story of hers, the next and most recent novel I've read of hers, comes with a minimalistic, bleeding cover. But rather than more of the same, we're actually given the complete opposite. Resurrect the Dead is, in many ways, a war novel, but instead raging gunfire and desolation on the battlefield, it's situated in a back and forth timeline that proposes a cause and effect without ever demanding you to connect the dots. All is suggestive, provocative, chaotic, yet controlled, militant and matter of fact. From my reading, I got the sense that no matter the era and regardless of history, each of us a waging a war (usually with ourselves) and, as may be expected, we don't even realise it until it's already too late. At times, there'll be a sense of self-actualisation and at others, shock and horror of what we've become, and how cripplingly inevitable it all comes to be realised.
Can we ever escape who we are? Do we have any control whatsoever on the person we'll eventually become, or is that determined by others, with or without our ever knowing it?
On the surface, Resurrect the Dead could be seen as literary, psychological novel, and it probably is on the genre-defining scale, but I'd also venture to say it's also not only a war novel but indeed, a YA romance (of sorts), a detailing on familial bonds, lifelong friendships and the subtle, yet very much felt and identifying elements of what shapes us, and how we're all essentially a part of one another, including the very ugly and outright demented.
We've come across many a Roger our time. A seemingly innocuous though clearly unwell type who, under the surface, is entirely deranged. We've encountered an Alex also, a confused teen desperate for answers, who in his search for the truth uncovers a horror that defies belief, but also, quite tragically, defines who he is and how disturbingly alike he is to the man who wrought so much tragedy to his life before he was even old enough to realise it. And we've all met an Alyssa, the quiet, next door type who's easy to stereotype but difficult to read, but who, out of the lot of them, has more heart, courage, and understanding of herself and perhaps, everyone else around her.
It's the the delicate intricacies that really weave this piece together. Sapala has somehow written a novel that contains decapitation followed by necrophilia and made it soft and delicate to the senses. Even romantic, if the reader dares to empathise with the mindset of the certifiable. Perhaps that's why many of her younger characters often meet in a place they call 'the clearing', as it's not only a cool place to hangout but also there to bring respite to what would otherwise make a person insane. We all need our little pocket of space, outside of the influence of the world, to cleanse ourselves from the constant toxins it insists on pouring into us.
Having let this novel brew since finishing it, I'm fairly convinced that this notion of becoming an 'adult' is thoroughly delusional. Sure, given the right circumstances and self-awareness, we can become maturer versions of the people we once were, and not repeat the mistakes of the past. What I can't help but wonder though, and this nearly puts the novel into cosmological horror territory, is whether or not the past is ever truly done with you. And you need not have even been born yet to realise it's already plotting against you.
Maybe Sapala's intro put this Stephen King-esque paranoia into my head before I'd even begun the book though. Or maybe what I'm typing right now was written many a moon ago. Who knows? One thing is for sure though. I'll keep coming back to Sapala's work.
Having written for longer than I care to recall these days, I've begun to admire qualities in a writer that I don't often hear spoken about and seldom see much either, and that is, versatility. While most people have heard of George Orwell, for example, not many would think of him if I proffered my thoughts on Keep the Aspidistra Flying or Coming Up for Air, but they might chime in a thought or two when it comes to Animal Farm or, of course, 1984. All things considered, it's pretty bizarre that we don't hear much praise in this fashion, as surely a versatile voice and adaptable ability indicates having honed the craft to quite the high standard, but well, from my little standpoint, it really doesn't seem to be the case.
I've read Sapala's work a handful of times now, but only delved into what I imagine she'd consider her roman-à-clef era, detailed in her West Coast Trilogy, which may have well been originally penned in blood. It's a raw, challenging and heartbroken three-piece where, slowly but surely, Sapala's Leah finds a degree of peace and self-understanding through the very craft it's presented in. Here's hoping the catharsis of writing it was as palpably felt as it read on the page.
Interestingly enough, and outside of a short story of hers, the next and most recent novel I've read of hers, comes with a minimalistic, bleeding cover. But rather than more of the same, we're actually given the complete opposite. Resurrect the Dead is, in many ways, a war novel, but instead raging gunfire and desolation on the battlefield, it's situated in a back and forth timeline that proposes a cause and effect without ever demanding you to connect the dots. All is suggestive, provocative, chaotic, yet controlled, militant and matter of fact. From my reading, I got the sense that no matter the era and regardless of history, each of us a waging a war (usually with ourselves) and, as may be expected, we don't even realise it until it's already too late. At times, there'll be a sense of self-actualisation and at others, shock and horror of what we've become, and how cripplingly inevitable it all comes to be realised.
Can we ever escape who we are? Do we have any control whatsoever on the person we'll eventually become, or is that determined by others, with or without our ever knowing it?
On the surface, Resurrect the Dead could be seen as literary, psychological novel, and it probably is on the genre-defining scale, but I'd also venture to say it's also not only a war novel but indeed, a YA romance (of sorts), a detailing on familial bonds, lifelong friendships and the subtle, yet very much felt and identifying elements of what shapes us, and how we're all essentially a part of one another, including the very ugly and outright demented.
We've come across many a Roger our time. A seemingly innocuous though clearly unwell type who, under the surface, is entirely deranged. We've encountered an Alex also, a confused teen desperate for answers, who in his search for the truth uncovers a horror that defies belief, but also, quite tragically, defines who he is and how disturbingly alike he is to the man who wrought so much tragedy to his life before he was even old enough to realise it. And we've all met an Alyssa, the quiet, next door type who's easy to stereotype but difficult to read, but who, out of the lot of them, has more heart, courage, and understanding of herself and perhaps, everyone else around her.
It's the the delicate intricacies that really weave this piece together. Sapala has somehow written a novel that contains decapitation followed by necrophilia and made it soft and delicate to the senses. Even romantic, if the reader dares to empathise with the mindset of the certifiable. Perhaps that's why many of her younger characters often meet in a place they call 'the clearing', as it's not only a cool place to hangout but also there to bring respite to what would otherwise make a person insane. We all need our little pocket of space, outside of the influence of the world, to cleanse ourselves from the constant toxins it insists on pouring into us.
Having let this novel brew since finishing it, I'm fairly convinced that this notion of becoming an 'adult' is thoroughly delusional. Sure, given the right circumstances and self-awareness, we can become maturer versions of the people we once were, and not repeat the mistakes of the past. What I can't help but wonder though, and this nearly puts the novel into cosmological horror territory, is whether or not the past is ever truly done with you. And you need not have even been born yet to realise it's already plotting against you.
Maybe Sapala's intro put this Stephen King-esque paranoia into my head before I'd even begun the book though. Or maybe what I'm typing right now was written many a moon ago. Who knows? One thing is for sure though. I'll keep coming back to Sapala's work.
May 23, 2025
As soon as I started reading Resurrect The Dead by Lauren Sapala, I knew that I, as a reader, was going to be in good hands. The preface gives the writer’s impetus for writing this novel, so it was clear it was going to be of the psychological horror genre for me. The deeply dark side of human nature is explored through the characters, with the Vietnam War at the story’s heart for giving opportunities within the human psyche to tap depths of depravity that if severely provoked anyone of us might, especially like the lead character, Roger, be capable of, particularly if there is pre-existing dysfunction. The writer shows how latent psychopathic traits can be unleashed in the chaotic cruelty of a war in which boundaries were literally blown to smithereens and all sense of right and wrong lost in madness.
The style of writing is the author’s very own, but I was also reminded of Stephen King, in the confident dealing with the lead character, Roger’s unravelling, as if you are inside Roger’s head, wondering why he is different from everyone else and finding himself at home in the war-torn jungle, where his animal instincts aid his survival and usefulness as a soldier to his comrades, despite them seeing his growing mania. In particular, the writer’s descriptions of Alex’s determination to stay in control despite being overwhelmed by horror and confusion, is masterful.
The setting of the trailer park is vivid and all the other characters beautifully drawn, but it is the conflicted Alex who you root for. Hoping against hope he will find a way to survive without cutting off from himself as a result of dealing with Roger’s illness and state as a father figure, and his own frustrations as to his own origins. How Roger became Alex’s father is the delicately handled thread that guides you through the novel. The hapless Greg is a victim of twisted loyalty, the character of Alyssa functions as a kind of powerless guardian angel archetype for Alex, while Joel provides some welcome relief as an external observer to the insanity.
At the end of the novel, you can only dare to hope that Alex makes it through life without being rendered too broken by his past and upbringing. And in that vein, I would love a sequel to find out. This novel has the kind of slow burn I love – highly recommended.
The style of writing is the author’s very own, but I was also reminded of Stephen King, in the confident dealing with the lead character, Roger’s unravelling, as if you are inside Roger’s head, wondering why he is different from everyone else and finding himself at home in the war-torn jungle, where his animal instincts aid his survival and usefulness as a soldier to his comrades, despite them seeing his growing mania. In particular, the writer’s descriptions of Alex’s determination to stay in control despite being overwhelmed by horror and confusion, is masterful.
The setting of the trailer park is vivid and all the other characters beautifully drawn, but it is the conflicted Alex who you root for. Hoping against hope he will find a way to survive without cutting off from himself as a result of dealing with Roger’s illness and state as a father figure, and his own frustrations as to his own origins. How Roger became Alex’s father is the delicately handled thread that guides you through the novel. The hapless Greg is a victim of twisted loyalty, the character of Alyssa functions as a kind of powerless guardian angel archetype for Alex, while Joel provides some welcome relief as an external observer to the insanity.
At the end of the novel, you can only dare to hope that Alex makes it through life without being rendered too broken by his past and upbringing. And in that vein, I would love a sequel to find out. This novel has the kind of slow burn I love – highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews