Severe loss. For fifteen-year-old Laurel Summers, those two words don’t cut it. They don’t even come close. Laurel couldn’t tell you the last words she spoke to her mother and siblings if her life depended on it—maybe something about pizza. Some guy decided to drive drunk, and now she sees the ghosts of her family everywhere. After the car accident, she and her dad are left to pick up the pieces of their shattered life, but her dad is struggling with his grief and depression. It’s up to Laurel to hold everything together. With the help of her grandparents, her two best friends, and some random airport strangers, Laurel tries to make sense of her pain. She must come to terms with the things on her List of Things Not to Talk About, learn to trust her dad again, and—on top of it all—keep her heart open to love, even in the wake of her immense loss.

Ooligan Press is excited to announce our newest YA novel, Laurel Everywhere by debut author Erin Moynihan, set to launch November 10, 2020. Laurel Everywhere is an intimate depiction of the grief and mental-health issues often experienced with the loss of loved ones. The novel highlights complicated family relationships in the wake of tragedy: Laurel grapples with her own feelings of loss while her father spirals into a deeper depression, requiring a long stay in a hospital that specializes in grief. Although much of the book focuses on grief, loss, and mental health, Laurel Everywhere is also a story of survival, love, hope, and friendship. Follow Laurel on a journey of self-discovery, self-healing, and growth as she learns that sometimes it’s okay to not be okay.

Still not convinced that Laurel Everywhere is the right book for you? Here are two more reasons you might love it:

• • We at Ooligan pride ourselves on bringing seldom-heard voices to print. Laurel Everywhere focuses on Laurel, a teenage LGBTQ+ character struggling with her sense of identity, but the narrative doesn’t revolve around her sexuality. Although her sexuality is explored, her experience with grief and her struggle with her father’s mental-health challenges are themes that are relatable to everyone, regardless of their sexual identity.

• Grief and mental-health struggles are explored in a raw and honest way. Our author, Erin Moynihan, doesn’t hold back as she depicts life with a parent struggling with deep depression and explores what recovery can look like for the families of those experiencing mental illness. Moynihan has a background in social work, which she called on to help guide her through this writing journey and to help break through the social stigma surrounding grief and mental-health struggles.

Erin Moynihan’s editorial work has appeared on HuffPost, Buzzfeed, The Mighty, and Her Campus. She has a strong passion for elevating young female voices. When she’s not working, she’s likely spending time cuddling with her dog or adventuring around the Pacific Northwest. You can see what she’s up to at www.erinmoynihan.com.