Cool, Not Removed

by Ben Tanzer

"My therapist is what you might expect. Tweed jackets, year-round; sweater vests; corduroys; and a thatch of brown, parted, college professor hair."

ebook

First published November 15, 2010

About the author

Emmy-award winner Ben Tanzer's acclaimed work includes the short story collection UPSTATE, the science fiction novel Orphans and the essay collections Lost in Space and Be Cool. His recent novel The Missing was released in March 2024 by 7.13 Books and was a Chicago Writers Association Book of the Year finalist in the category of Traditional Fiction and his new book After Hours: Scorsese, Grief and the Grammar of Cinema, which Kirkus Reviews calls "A heartfelt if overstuffed tribute to the author’s father and the ameliorative power of art," was released by Ig Publishing in May 2025. Ben is also the host of the long running podcast This Podcast Will Change Your Life and lives in Chicago with his family.

Reviews

[Caleb Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

The narrator, removed, keeps the tension throughout this story. He's talking about his friend, but it's really he who feels trapped between doors.

Quick, punchy, and relateable (admit it) enough to be scary.

[Ben]

It changed my life.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the tension in the "firedoors" portion.

[Lavinia Ludlow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked the page by page story-telling. Ben has an amazing ability to convey a lot of information and emotion through very few lines. Bravo.