Under the Hemlock Tree: A Coming-of-Age Story

"She's a friend," I said.

"Girlfriend?" Megan probed.

"She's a girl. She's a friend. We aren't boyfriend-girlfriend," my voice shook a little. Janeen and Megan exchanged glances. The room went eerily silent.

"We're dying to know," Megan pressed. "Where did she spend the night?"

"Chelsea spent the night in my cottage," I confessed.

"You dirty dog," Janeen cried out. "Listen to him, Megs! He wouldn't give us a tour of his cottage a few weeks ago. Once we got him out of his shell, there's no stopping him!"

Cloistered in a remote private prep school and addicted to work, Skyler is captivated by three dynamic twenty-something women: Chelsea, a sexual trauma survivor he's reconnecting with a decade after high school; Megan, an unaffectedly open and lovely colleague; and Janeen, a mysterious extrovert with a jaw-dropping physique. Each young woman embodies Skyler's conflicting aspirations, passions, and desires.

On the precipice of a psychological breaking point, will he discover a pathway into adulthood with the woman of his dreams, or will Skyler spiral downward into self-destruction?

TRIGGER WARNING: This book contains themes and/or descriptions of ABUSE, CHILDHOOD TRAUMA, DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILIES & RELATIONSHIPS, MENTAL ILLNESS, NONTRADITIONAL GENDER RELATIONSHIPS, RELIGION, and SEXUAL VIOLENCE. If you are sensitive to this subject matter, please consider other content