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A Thin Place
Joe lives an idyllic life. He needs nothing more than what he has, which is nothing more than a dog and some hills to wander. That is, until it’s all whisked away early one morning, as he’s thrown into his parents’ car, his best friend Corky’s gone missing, and rumor has it something dark is stirring in the family. Joe is about to lose everything he has ever loved yet his parents and older brother won’t tell him why. In a new town, at a new school, the new guy sticks Joe tries to sort through the more painful experiences of life, to find what matters most. With the encouragement of a beautiful, warm-hearted girl named Ellen, Joe may just find the Hope he is so desperately searching for. Inspired by his true experiences, David Weiskircher writes a moving portrayal of a young man’s journey through finding hope and peace amidst the whirlwind of pain and trauma. A Thin Place shows us a viscerally truthful portrait of an attempt to sift through the agony of loss and the secrets our family refuses to tell us. This story is one of resilience; of the recovery from what shatters us to our core. A Thin Place can be a useful tool for teachers in helping them build trauma-informed classrooms.
326 pages, Paperback
Published June 21, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 17, 2019
A riveting and honest story of how one family struggles to cope with unbearable circumstances
David Weiskircher’s latest book is a deeply emotional story based on true events during the early 1970’s. A Thin Place uses the voice of Joe McQuire to tell the story as he sees it. Joe is living the simple life as the teenaged son of a dairy farmer in a nice house on a hill in a small Ohio town. He has his friends and his best friend forever, Corky, a barn dog. In one day his peaceful life is shattered when he learns that his father nearly lost the family business and their home to drinking and a gambling habit. His father’s siblings have ousted him from his position at the dairy. Joe’s infuriated mother takes charge and decides that they are moving and leaving everything they know behind. Joe and his brother, Conner are told to pack up immediately because the next day they would journey towards a new life in Florida. What hurts Joe more than anything is that his parents tell him to leave Corky behind. This one thoughtless act makes Joe angry with his parents yet his brother doesn’t seem to care. In fact, Joe thinks he sees his brother gloat. The brothers are left in the dark as to what really happened and this increases Joe’s mistrust of his parents and his brother.
When they arrive in Jacksonville, Florida Conner becomes disturbingly belligerent. This worries Joe and his parents to no end. They find little peace in sunny Florida. That changes for Joe when he meets Ellen who helps walk him through his troubles with her friendship and wisdom. Joe who chooses to use his wit to cope with the anxiety filled environment at home is challenged by Ellen to see things a different way. Joe’s brother becomes more sinister and he makes remarks that make Joe question his identity. When his brother attacks Joe nearly killing him, their parents finally agree to have him examined him at the state mental health facility hoping that they will keep him. Nevertheless, Joe’s mother, a devout Catholic who strongly believes in family is determined to bring Conner back home for the holidays. What follows are twists and turns of events that will cause readers to keep flipping pages to see what happens in the end. It is a great read for young adults and adults as well.
David Weiskircher’s latest book is a deeply emotional story based on true events during the early 1970’s. A Thin Place uses the voice of Joe McQuire to tell the story as he sees it. Joe is living the simple life as the teenaged son of a dairy farmer in a nice house on a hill in a small Ohio town. He has his friends and his best friend forever, Corky, a barn dog. In one day his peaceful life is shattered when he learns that his father nearly lost the family business and their home to drinking and a gambling habit. His father’s siblings have ousted him from his position at the dairy. Joe’s infuriated mother takes charge and decides that they are moving and leaving everything they know behind. Joe and his brother, Conner are told to pack up immediately because the next day they would journey towards a new life in Florida. What hurts Joe more than anything is that his parents tell him to leave Corky behind. This one thoughtless act makes Joe angry with his parents yet his brother doesn’t seem to care. In fact, Joe thinks he sees his brother gloat. The brothers are left in the dark as to what really happened and this increases Joe’s mistrust of his parents and his brother.
When they arrive in Jacksonville, Florida Conner becomes disturbingly belligerent. This worries Joe and his parents to no end. They find little peace in sunny Florida. That changes for Joe when he meets Ellen who helps walk him through his troubles with her friendship and wisdom. Joe who chooses to use his wit to cope with the anxiety filled environment at home is challenged by Ellen to see things a different way. Joe’s brother becomes more sinister and he makes remarks that make Joe question his identity. When his brother attacks Joe nearly killing him, their parents finally agree to have him examined him at the state mental health facility hoping that they will keep him. Nevertheless, Joe’s mother, a devout Catholic who strongly believes in family is determined to bring Conner back home for the holidays. What follows are twists and turns of events that will cause readers to keep flipping pages to see what happens in the end. It is a great read for young adults and adults as well.
February 24, 2020
A Thin Place by David Weiskircher, is a coming of age story told from the view of a young man who was forced to leave his long-time home after a devastating family change forces them to move to Florida. From the beginning, it is obvious he shares a strong bond with his dog, Corky, and has a difficult relationship with other members of his family. Namely, his mom. When the family moves, he’s forced to leave his beloved dog behind thus further rupturing the fragile web of the family. As someone who is attached to her dog, I identified with the main character very much. It brought tears to my eyes when he had to leave Corky behind. This is not something that happens to me in today’s literature. The author did an amazing job at pulling emotions from the reader. Surprisingly, I found the book very well written. As a reviewer of many self-published titles, this is not something I encounter often, which is disheartening. I loved the way the story began in the character’s future and went back into his past. This is something powerful, especially in coming of age novels. The length of the book made it quite easy to sit and read in a couple of sittings. This is good for me because, as a busy mom, business owner and housewife, reading longer novels can become difficult. However, like many novels, A Thin Place had its flaws. In many cases, I found what is in known in the industry as “dragging dialogue” or “dragging narrative.” This is where the author falls into redundancies and has the urge to explain every detail. As is the case, these areas became boring and slow. All in all, I can happily say I enjoyed this novel and would gladly recommend it to people who need a story and characters they can identify with.
May 11, 2020
I liked the beginning, it started out as 1995 and then quickly flipped back to 1971, back to the main character, Joe McGuire, and his story from when he was a teenager. The story was a little sad in places for Joe. He was forced to leave his home, and everything he knew behind due to his father losing his part of the dairy farm that he had a stake in. He even had to leave his best friend behind, his beloved dog, Corky. It tugged at your heart strings a little every time he thought about his home in Martina Ferry, Ohio and all that he lost when he was forced to move to Jacksonville, Florida. He quickly found a friend in Ellen, a neighborhood girl who lives a few doors down from Joe. He became quickly fond of her and found himself confiding his thoughts and feelings to her. I felt very badly for Joe's parents at the treatment of his older brother, Connor, who was constantly berating their parents and blaming them for everything, and his, seeming, hatred for everything around him, including their parents. I found their mom to be a little bit too harsh towards Joe for things that were definitely not his fault, and once in a while she seemed to use him for a verbal punching bag, which was sad. Joe even called out his mom and dad for enabling Connors behavior, which they seemed to completely ignore, which was very annoying. I have to say that I absolutely LOVED this book from start to finish. There is nothing about this that I did not like.
I would definitely recommend this book to everyone. If I could give more than 5 stars then I definitely would.
I would definitely recommend this book to everyone. If I could give more than 5 stars then I definitely would.
February 19, 2020
“Thin place_plain, simple words carrying some great significance. But what was a thin place? Why had the term come to me now? And who had I first heard it from?”
This is a story of fiction with some truth. The story of brothers and how you can spend your entire life with someone and not see the same world the same way. Joe tells the story that starts the day he hears of his brother's death and he starts to tell the tale of the beginning of when he first saw the thin place and how after that discovery he learns that they are leaving everything he has ever known and moved to Florida. Upon getting to Florida the other truth that is family and his family is not what it seems. On this adventure, he learns what it means to not only to have faith but to understand, what it means to be a brother and son.
I found David Weiskircher's latest book, A Thin Place. He shares his own relationships with his family intertwined with a story of fiction. I found his easy style writing and story-line very refreshing and the truth in the words he shared to the point you can see your own families and trouble in the world. I strongly recommend this book to young adults to the elderly. It can be a wonderful asset to understand what makes up a relationship between family. How you can not truly see the thin place between until you are willing to accept that people and faith are their own.
This is a story of fiction with some truth. The story of brothers and how you can spend your entire life with someone and not see the same world the same way. Joe tells the story that starts the day he hears of his brother's death and he starts to tell the tale of the beginning of when he first saw the thin place and how after that discovery he learns that they are leaving everything he has ever known and moved to Florida. Upon getting to Florida the other truth that is family and his family is not what it seems. On this adventure, he learns what it means to not only to have faith but to understand, what it means to be a brother and son.
I found David Weiskircher's latest book, A Thin Place. He shares his own relationships with his family intertwined with a story of fiction. I found his easy style writing and story-line very refreshing and the truth in the words he shared to the point you can see your own families and trouble in the world. I strongly recommend this book to young adults to the elderly. It can be a wonderful asset to understand what makes up a relationship between family. How you can not truly see the thin place between until you are willing to accept that people and faith are their own.
May 18, 2020
Amazing Story
I loved this book the minute I started reading it! The author had such a great way of making you feel everything he felt when things were happening. It is never easy to deal with some of life’s events and he had to deal with quite a few in a short period of time. Mental illness is not easy on family members or the person who has it, it’s never dealt with well because frankly who knows how to deal with it. People don’t want to admit there is anything wrong, wouldn’t look good on the family and outsiders don’t know how to perceive it. I loved how the author used humor to get by in tough situations, sometimes it the easiest way to deal with heartache. I enjoyed the way he describes the differences between the two states, I love his love for the dogs. It was so easy to feel the loyalty and trust he had for his dogs and made the reader love the dogs as well. His relationship with his girlfriend/wife was incredible and she must have been a very special person. It was a sad story and yet a happy story all at the same time. I think I knew it was a true story by how easily the book read and the words just flowed together from the start. I would love to read another book by this author, and recommend this book highly to readers if all ages. I really enjoyed the autobiography at the end as well, put the people in the story to the real people.
I loved this book the minute I started reading it! The author had such a great way of making you feel everything he felt when things were happening. It is never easy to deal with some of life’s events and he had to deal with quite a few in a short period of time. Mental illness is not easy on family members or the person who has it, it’s never dealt with well because frankly who knows how to deal with it. People don’t want to admit there is anything wrong, wouldn’t look good on the family and outsiders don’t know how to perceive it. I loved how the author used humor to get by in tough situations, sometimes it the easiest way to deal with heartache. I enjoyed the way he describes the differences between the two states, I love his love for the dogs. It was so easy to feel the loyalty and trust he had for his dogs and made the reader love the dogs as well. His relationship with his girlfriend/wife was incredible and she must have been a very special person. It was a sad story and yet a happy story all at the same time. I think I knew it was a true story by how easily the book read and the words just flowed together from the start. I would love to read another book by this author, and recommend this book highly to readers if all ages. I really enjoyed the autobiography at the end as well, put the people in the story to the real people.
November 9, 2019
I did not know what to expect when I picked up this book. A Thin Place is an absolutely beautiful and moving novel. The characters are rich and full of life and the story has heart with real emotion and feeling. I have not felt so invested in characters as I was with this novel in a very long time. It is well-written, engaging, and entertaining.
None of this should be a surprise as the events of the novel a roughly based on the life of the author. However, I didn’t realize that until finishing the novel and reading more about it (I hate even the tiniest spoilers so I don’t always read much about a book before reading it). Mr. Weiskircher imbues this novel with such life and energy that you won’t be able to put it down.
A Thin Place is the story of a boy, a dog, and family. It is about love, heartbreak, death, life, and treasuring relationships. It is an unusual novel in that the plot is not as goal-oriented as many stories are. It’s a book that just brings you along with the story and you don’t want to leave the world lived, and then recreated, by Mr. Weiskircher in this novel.
If you love books about life and relationships this is a great book. It is deeply engaging and makes you think about what you could be doing to living your own life more and treasuring the relationships you have with the people around you. I highly recommend this novel.
None of this should be a surprise as the events of the novel a roughly based on the life of the author. However, I didn’t realize that until finishing the novel and reading more about it (I hate even the tiniest spoilers so I don’t always read much about a book before reading it). Mr. Weiskircher imbues this novel with such life and energy that you won’t be able to put it down.
A Thin Place is the story of a boy, a dog, and family. It is about love, heartbreak, death, life, and treasuring relationships. It is an unusual novel in that the plot is not as goal-oriented as many stories are. It’s a book that just brings you along with the story and you don’t want to leave the world lived, and then recreated, by Mr. Weiskircher in this novel.
If you love books about life and relationships this is a great book. It is deeply engaging and makes you think about what you could be doing to living your own life more and treasuring the relationships you have with the people around you. I highly recommend this novel.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews