Detroit, U.S.A. — Scott J. Holliday has written a novel about redemption. His book, “Normal“, follows the lives of prison guard Paul Constantine and sideshow performer Roy Pellerin, Paul’s childhood friend and a man with a disease that gives him the appearance of alligator skin. Paul must track Roy across the country on a mission of justice and forgiveness.

Holliday recalls the event that influenced his writing: One night he got out of his car and followed his fiancee toward the house. She went inside, closed the door behind her, and locked it. He sighed and closed his eyes. When he opened them he was in a hospital. He didn’t know how he got there, but he quickly knew why.

“The wound on my forearm,” Holliday says, “was wide open.”

The couple had argued on the ride home.

“It was a damaged relationship near its end,” he says. “I reacted poorly to being locked out of my own house.”

The rest of the story was recounted to him. He had popped out a small window and reached in to unlock the door. He walked in not knowing a glass shard had sliced open his arm. He fell, lost consciousness, and began bleeding out.

“Doctor said it was a miracle,” Holliday says. “A half inch either way and I would have severed a major vein. I probably would’ve died.”

His perspective was changed.

“It brought important things into focus. It showed me life is fleeting, and that I wasn’t living it right. My relationship was destructive, my job was a dead-end, and I wasn’t following my dreams.”

Fast forward several years and much has changed. Scott’s happily married and he has published “Normal“, his debut novel, and a work of fiction that parallels his escape from an unfulfilling life.

“It’s about scars,” Holliday says, “both physical and emotional. What we learn from them, what they mean.”

Reviewer Krystal Rinyu says, “(Normal is) a testament to the human spirit. How we are able to bounce back time and again in the face of suffering.”

Reviewer Frishawn Rasheed says, “This is a book that all should read. A story that encourages one to truly seize the day, love who you love, and not be afraid to be who you are.”

“Normal” is available on Amazon.com.

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