by Steven Hayward, CC English professor

“Don’t be Afraid” is a darkly comic novel of adolescent anxiety featuring Jim Morrison — not the lead singer of The Doors who died in 1971, but a chubby 17-year-old living in Ohio. This Jim Morrison was born days after the singer’s death, and Jimmy has been living a largely invisible life, overshadowed by his older brother and stern father. When the brother dies, the family’s life is upended and any sense of normalcy is destroyed. Hayward collaborated with Brad Limov ’12 in the making of a video trailer, marking the fact the book is now available in paperback.

ISBN-13: 978-0676977363. Published by Knopf Canada, 2011.