Cage's Bend

Trade Paperback

"Cage will be fine. Every good southern family has a manic-depressive," Joanie Fairfield spoke in a lovely South Carolina low-country accent. "Fine old families often have more. They all learn to get by."

Cage, Nick and Harper appear to be the archetypal sons of the ideal family of the 1960s and '70s. The firstborn, Cage, is the golden boy- star athlete and scholar, adventurous, handsome, and preternaturally popular. Nick is the quiet, late-blooming middle son; and Harper, ten years younger, chases after his older siblings trying to not be left out. Then comes the terrible day in July 19878. Tragedy strikes- and the breakdown of the family begins.

Careening from mania to depression, Cage goes into a tailspin while Harper seeks escape in an endless stream of women. But their mother, Margaret, never stops trying to heal her fractured family. CAGES BEND explores the conflicting and sometimes heartbreaking nature of family relationships. Most of all, it asks us when it's best to help someone we love... and when it's best to let them go.