Night Navigation: A Novel

By: Ginnah Howard

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Synopsis: A mother and her adult, drug-addicted son struggle for redemption and recovery in this &“dark debut&” novel that &“has the power to lift and inspire&” (Publishers Weekly).Night Navigation opens on a freezing-rain night in upstate New York: the kindling gone, the fire in the woodstove out. Retired high-school art teacher Del Merrick&’s thirty-seven-year-old manic-depressive son, Mark, needs a ride, but she&’s afraid to make the long drive north to the only detox that has a bed. Through each of the four seasons, Night Navigation takes readers into the deranged, darkly humorous world of the addict—from break-your-arm dealers, to boot-camp rehabs, to Rumi-quoting NA sponsors. Mark can&’t find a way to live in this world; Del can&’t stop trying to rescue him. And yet, during this long year&’s night, through relapse and despair, Mark and Del see flare-ups of hope as they fitfully, painfully try to steer toward the light. Told in the alternating voices of an addict and his mother, this &“harrowing . . . cathartic&” novel adds new depths to our understanding and literature of parents and their troubled children (Kirkus Reviews).