Out of Iowa

Stewart Cooper, once a young lawyer of great promise now charged with a heinous, highly publicized crime. His brother, Perry, an incarcerated pill addict. Saul and Beatrice, deeply loving parents who wanted only the best for their sons. OUT OF IOWA is the story of this middle-class rural family, whose close-knit bonds are severely tested by a string of sudden, crippling adversities. Residents of a sprawling corn and soybean farm, the Coopers enjoy relative peace and harmony until the fateful summer of 2011. Prior to Perry's arrest for armed robbery, and Stewart's arrest two weeks later for an abhorrent cyber crime, life on the farm was normal and quiet. The family, long blessed with good fortune and free of strife, is now abruptly torn asunder, beleaguered by enormous hardships: poverty, alcoholism, mental illness, and estrangement. These culminate in Stewart's brief imprisonment, during which he fears for his life as well as his sanity. Saul and Beatrice descend rapidly into a deep, booze-fueled depression, Saul's exacerbated profoundly by early-onset dementia. Plagued by alcoholism himself, of which he is in complete denial, Stewart begins to develop debilitating anxiety and severe agoraphobia. Forced to move back to the family farm after losing his job, he hides his liquor problem from everyone (including himself) and seeks intensive therapy. His stern, no-nonsense shrink may be the only one who can penetrate his fog of self-deception and help him to confront the fears and resentments underlying his angst. Inspired by the real-life experiences of the author, OUT OF IOWA is a heartbreaking tale of grief, loss, and redemption, of a family's faltering attempts to overcome their tumultuous past and exorcise the demons that haunt them. Innovatively non-linear but straightforward in style, IOWA is a short book of tremendous emotional force, a unique and unforgettable family saga.