Jack & I
Author: Laury A. Egan
Genre: Psychological, thriller, suspense
Orientation: Straight, gay
Pairing: M/F M/M
Identity: Cisgender
Sexual content: Strong
Trigger Warnings: Sexual assault, mental health illness
Jack & I
A psychological suspense novel about two teenage boys. The twist? They're both named Jack and both inhabit the same body. "Mostly I was relieved to put some distance between Jack and myself, although this wasn't possible because I am Jack, too. And sort of not Jack. I am I, or rather, I am me."
1994. Jack Kennett is 16 and suffers from undiagnosed Dissociative Identity Disorder (Multiple Personality Disorder). Abandoned at age two, Jack has been in the New Jersey care system all his life: foster homes and once placed for adoption with the Kennetts, a family he adored, especially their daughter, Cara. As the divisive war between the two personalities escalates, Jack (the host) is in despair and feeling powerless as he experiences amnesiac events and must deal with his alter's promiscuity, truancy, and illegal acts. How will the war between the personalities end?
"Egan fearlessly tackes the complex and mysterious malady and creates two unforgettable characters—the two Jacks—who struggles to own the same body. Jack & I is a psychological thriller and a nuanced portrayal of the torment experienced by those with this rare form of mental illness; a page-turner that both entertains and enlightens."
—Michael Alenyikov, author of Sorrow's Drive
"Brava! Jack & I takes us on a journey into Jack's world of having to coexist with an alter personality whose morals and actions are in direct conflict with Jack's own values. A masterful job of getting the reader to feel Jack's helplessness and hopelessness as he hosts this destructive personality."
—Judy Shepps Battle, pschotherapist
"An emotional rollercoaster, moving from heartbreaking and finally to hope as the reader witnesses the damage done to a child who sufers trauma at the hands of adults who are supposed to protect him."
—Corrine LeBaron, MSS, CEO of a foster-care non-profit