Jacob is a boy growing up in the seventies from the Deep South who emerges from a family of sexual deviancy and alcoholism masked by religion and wealth.
Aided by a tribe of mentors, he learns to define who he is but struggles to find the balance between religion and sexuality. To embrace his true identity, Jacob must go on an exodus to face his demons and overcome the pressures to conform.
BOY IN THE HOLE is a gripping account of a boy wrestling to understand himself, his family, and the world in which he lives. It is a cathartic tale of an adolescent refusing to accept his parents' toxic beliefs and the messages of self-hate from religion and society.
Neuropsychologist and profiler writes a novel about bullying, sexuality, and abuse.
Akiva Hersh’s novel BOY IN THE HOLE is being released in October the week of National Coming Out Day.
Akiva has degrees in Neurolinguistics and Theology and a background in training agents in the CIA, FBI, and Law Enforcement Officers; managers at Dell and 3M; professors at the University of Texas; supervisors at the United States Postal Service, and has consulted with various security details.
He has helped abuse survivors, victims of bullying, and those struggling to come out as LGBTQ, and has volumes to say about how friends, families, and schools can help.
When not writing Literary Fiction and Thrillers, Akiva pens short stories and poems, hikes with his insane but devoted Miniature American Shepherd Zeke, plays classical piano and enjoys suspense/horror flicks.
Jacob guards his feelings. Yet, in nature, and by water specifically, he analyzes events and their consequences.
On the one hand, Jacob is afraid of his sexuality being discovered, but on the other hand he craves the contact and intimacy that can only manifest through vulnerability.
The conflict is too much. As he watches the ebb and flow of the ocean he understands his feelings have changed--not by choice--but by his concern for what people will think of him.
Book Excerpt
Boy in the Hole
So much depends then, thought Jacob, watching the emerald liquid heave and spit foamy white crests upon itself and suck them back in, so much depends, he thought, on impressions: no matter how well a person knows one, people form opinions too quickly; for his feeling for Erik had been overtaken, engulfed by a wave and sunk as he watched the green mass pulse; as slimy white fingers seized sand and shells ebulliently into frothy lips.
Comment on this Bubble
Your comment and a link to this bubble will also appear in your Facebook feed.