Self-Induced

by Michael Alan Brich

Will you take the bartender to a Narcotics Anonymous meeting or will you visit your girlfriend's crazy mother and her pet goat Sinbad? A New Age Choose-Your-Own Adventure Novel is one part magical realism, one part social satire and one part addiction biography. The lives of three men in Arizona become increasingly intertwined as they struggle with drug use, chaotic relationships and disheartening jobs. A bartender is diagnosed with a terminal illness by a hack dentist and lives as though his days are numbered until he is arrested and his apartment catches fire. A salesclerk at CopyWorld in an emotionally draining relationship learns to mentally escape through a dream walking process aided by nicotine patches, post-its and a tape recorder. Meanwhile an artist receives a mysterious grant and travels to New Zealand for help from a hypnotist to fulfill his contract and meet the looming deadline. The satiric choose-your-own adventure format allows the reader to choose the direction of the characters' journeys as the men stumble through New Age practices ranging from tarot card readers to galactic visionaries. The choice is yours to follow in their sometimes tragic, sometimes comedic quest for meaning in a landscape dominated by commercialism and angst.

246 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 12, 2010