Wake, Sleeper

by Bryan Parys

In 1987, when Bryan Parys was four years old, his father Alfred pressed record on a tape player next to his hospital bed. He began leaving messages for his wife, three children, and anyone who wanted to know why his terminal cancer at age thirty-eight wouldn't shake his faith. "If God told me to walk into a fiery furnace, I'd do it," he said, perhaps knowing that he would not walk back out. In Wake, Sleeper, Parys tries to understand his father's deathbed fire in the context of a Christian childhood that taught him about eternity. Unspoken feelings of doubt lead Parys toward an inner life where he is allowed to question, provoke, and search for beauty in the void of grief. Through the lens of his upbringing in a Christian school and the church that met in the school gymnasium, that inner voice emerges in Wake, Sleeper. The grief of his past contrasts with the tension of his search to fit in, told as a lyrical and often humorous meditation on time.

Genres: Memoir

188 pages, Paperback

Published October 8, 2015

About the author

Bryan Parys is a writer, editor, and teacher. His creative nonfiction work has appeared in Ruminate Magazine, Sojourners, and the Good Men Project, among others. He received his M.F.A. in creative nonfiction at the University of New Hampshire, is a writer at Berklee College of Music, and teaches creative writing on Boston's North Shore, where he currently lives with his family.

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bryan Parys deftly captures the cultural experience of growing up in an Evangelical Christian environment. His story is neither preachy nor dismissive. He wrestles honestly and thoughtfully with the big questions of life, death, and purpose in a way that is universally applicable to any reader. The collection of memories bounces back and forth chronologically through his life, but in a purposeful and structured way that leads to some enlightened conclusions. His narrative voice is sharp, witty and often flat-out hilarious as he recalls getting in trouble at school, the minutia of a non-denominational church, teenage love and loss, and even complex gastrointestinal woes. Wake Sleeper demonstrates attention to craft typically present in a seasoned veteran writer, yet this is Parys' debut novel. Pick up this memoir; you won't want to put it down.

[Andrew George · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny, but deeply poignant at times. An essential read for anyone with doubt - so everyone. I personally enjoyed Parys' re telling of childhood moments, he gives enough to paint a complete picture of himself as a young person which in turn serves his meditations throughout.