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Knot at the End
“Knot at the End” by Aaron LaNier is a gripping, honest look at the
fight against addiction and mental illness
—the moments of darkness, the struggle to hold on, and the quiet strength it takes to survive. When you’ve hit bottom and the rope feels like it’s slipping, this book is the
tie a knot, and don’t let go
. A voice for the broken, and hope for those still climbing.
Ethan and Kelsie both had less-than-desirable childhoods growing up in the hills of Southern Ohio. Bonded by their shared experiences of trauma, they made a heartfelt pact to break the cycle and become nothing like their parents. They dreamed of being perfect parents when the time came to start their own family.
As young adults, they appeared to be thriving, and for a moment, it seemed like all their aspirations were within reach. However, their lives took a tragic turn when Kelsie’s sports injury led them to OxyContin. Burdened by addiction and inherited mental health struggles, they found themselves spiraling into a dark place.
Now, they face the daunting Can they find a way to put their lives back together and become the parents they always aspired to be? Can they support and save each other as adults, just as they did when they were children? The path ahead is uncertain, but there is hope that they can overcome their struggles together.
Ethan and Kelsie both had less-than-desirable childhoods growing up in the hills of Southern Ohio. Bonded by their shared experiences of trauma, they made a heartfelt pact to break the cycle and become nothing like their parents. They dreamed of being perfect parents when the time came to start their own family.
As young adults, they appeared to be thriving, and for a moment, it seemed like all their aspirations were within reach. However, their lives took a tragic turn when Kelsie’s sports injury led them to OxyContin. Burdened by addiction and inherited mental health struggles, they found themselves spiraling into a dark place.
Now, they face the daunting Can they find a way to put their lives back together and become the parents they always aspired to be? Can they support and save each other as adults, just as they did when they were children? The path ahead is uncertain, but there is hope that they can overcome their struggles together.
322 pages, Paperback
Published June 19, 2025
3 people are currently reading
2 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 25, 2025
An absolutely raw depiction of addiction and its impact on society. Fully love this story.
September 14, 2025
Just put it out there, Aaron LaNier!
This book's characters will capture your heart, break it, and mend it again. The author pours himself into every page. Brace yourself...it may be fiction, but the realism of the subject is poignant. I recommend this to all readers, but especially to anyone who has been addicted or knows someone who is, to parents who worry, to friends who want to help. It should be in all high school libraries!
This book's characters will capture your heart, break it, and mend it again. The author pours himself into every page. Brace yourself...it may be fiction, but the realism of the subject is poignant. I recommend this to all readers, but especially to anyone who has been addicted or knows someone who is, to parents who worry, to friends who want to help. It should be in all high school libraries!
August 13, 2025
Wow. Not my typical read but the author was in my town doing a signing. What a beautiful, emotional story. Highly recommend everyone to read this. Definitely changed my mind on the way I view addiction!
November 17, 2025
Going into this book, I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy read.
Set in the fictional Southern Ohio town of New Dublin, I was immediately transported to my hometown of Portsmouth, and there’s nothing coincidental about that. Author Aaron LaNier and I went to the same local school district (I actually graduated with his sister Nicole), and we knew (and still know) many of the same people. While this story is fictional, its inspiration is most certainly not. You simply cannot have grown up in that area during the time that we did without at least some first-hand experience with people whose lives were utterly destroyed by addiction and the attached mental stigmas that make it so hard to overcome.
LaNier’s story focuses on two ordinary kids trying to survive the opioid crisis that had many referring to our little slice of Ohio as the OxyContin Capital of the World. While things in the area slowly continue to improve, the impact of those days continues to cast a long shadow, and this is a cautionary tale of how easily addiction can get its hooks into folks who honestly thought they were stronger and knew better than to fall victim to that same tragic fate.
LaNier does a remarkable job breathing life into his central characters. I could close my eyes and hear the dialogue spoken aloud by people I’ve actually known. The opening sets the tone for Ethan, our male protagonist, when he was just a boy. Raised by parents who frequently quarreled, his world is upended when his inattentive father is killed in a motorcycle accident in the days following this eighth birthday. His mother is his rock, but it’s the little girl next door, Kelsie, who truly understands him best. Her own parents are inattentive, and as the days stretch into years, their need for one another organically grows into a romantic relationship that feels like it’s preordained.
When Kelsie suffers an injury while cheerleading in college, her agonizing pain sets in motion a spiral of increasing addiction that swallows them whole in no time flat. Soon, they are both taking higher doses of painkillers than legally prescribed and are listening to shady friends whose advice puts them on the wrong side of the law to get more, not to mention the toll it’s taking on their health. When Kelsie finds out she’s expecting their first child, finding a way out becomes a priority—but is it even attainable at this point?
And then the shizzit REALLY hits the fan.
Heartbreaking and devastatingly real, we follow along as Ethan and Kelsie take their lumps only to get back up and get knocked down all over again, and as hard as it was to read at times, the truth of its message is important. For those of you who think this couldn’t happen to you or someone you love, think again. Also important to note: it’s a story anchored in hope. Breaking the cycle of addiction is an ongoing battle, but it’s a battle that CAN be won with persistence, grace, and support from family and friends. I can only pray you never have to find that out for yourselves.
Set in the fictional Southern Ohio town of New Dublin, I was immediately transported to my hometown of Portsmouth, and there’s nothing coincidental about that. Author Aaron LaNier and I went to the same local school district (I actually graduated with his sister Nicole), and we knew (and still know) many of the same people. While this story is fictional, its inspiration is most certainly not. You simply cannot have grown up in that area during the time that we did without at least some first-hand experience with people whose lives were utterly destroyed by addiction and the attached mental stigmas that make it so hard to overcome.
LaNier’s story focuses on two ordinary kids trying to survive the opioid crisis that had many referring to our little slice of Ohio as the OxyContin Capital of the World. While things in the area slowly continue to improve, the impact of those days continues to cast a long shadow, and this is a cautionary tale of how easily addiction can get its hooks into folks who honestly thought they were stronger and knew better than to fall victim to that same tragic fate.
LaNier does a remarkable job breathing life into his central characters. I could close my eyes and hear the dialogue spoken aloud by people I’ve actually known. The opening sets the tone for Ethan, our male protagonist, when he was just a boy. Raised by parents who frequently quarreled, his world is upended when his inattentive father is killed in a motorcycle accident in the days following this eighth birthday. His mother is his rock, but it’s the little girl next door, Kelsie, who truly understands him best. Her own parents are inattentive, and as the days stretch into years, their need for one another organically grows into a romantic relationship that feels like it’s preordained.
When Kelsie suffers an injury while cheerleading in college, her agonizing pain sets in motion a spiral of increasing addiction that swallows them whole in no time flat. Soon, they are both taking higher doses of painkillers than legally prescribed and are listening to shady friends whose advice puts them on the wrong side of the law to get more, not to mention the toll it’s taking on their health. When Kelsie finds out she’s expecting their first child, finding a way out becomes a priority—but is it even attainable at this point?
And then the shizzit REALLY hits the fan.
Heartbreaking and devastatingly real, we follow along as Ethan and Kelsie take their lumps only to get back up and get knocked down all over again, and as hard as it was to read at times, the truth of its message is important. For those of you who think this couldn’t happen to you or someone you love, think again. Also important to note: it’s a story anchored in hope. Breaking the cycle of addiction is an ongoing battle, but it’s a battle that CAN be won with persistence, grace, and support from family and friends. I can only pray you never have to find that out for yourselves.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews