Self-Esteem: A Novel

It tells a story that explores just what is haunting the psyche of modern America. In today’s complex and interconnected world, there is no shortage of people telling us how to live, how to prosper, and how to be happy. But ironically, people seem more miserable and disillusioned than ever. Self-Esteem, a strange tale of the meltdown of a man who has profited from telling others how to live, is both a thriller and social satire that raises disturbing questions about the effects of popular psychology on the world. It is both thought-provoking and disturbingly hilarious.

Successful self-help writer Dr. James Crawford is not happy. His professional success is greater than ever but his personal life is falling apart. He has endorsed a children’s TV show based on his writings, but the cartoon-like host could be up to no less than murder. During a nasty drinking binge, Crawford struggles with his wife and son and his son’s strange mentor, a popular talk show host, a business partner tired of Crawford's aspirations, a mistress who doesn’t understand him, an emotionally distant professor, a couple of college pranksters, a successful rap artist, and an ominous tormentor, all of whom seem to be pushing the famous guru toward destruction.