With his writing of Breaking into Sunlight, John Cochran pens a story that gives hope and inspiration to anyone who has watched another human being struggle with drug and other addictions.
Dealing with an addict is Reese Buck’s reality, and when his dad, Sam, overdoses on pain medication, Reese loses himself in drawing or basketball. These distractions enable him to push to the back of his brain the painful truth that his life is a huge mess. Instead of having to think about his dad, Reese dreams of making a name for himself in the Guinness World Records as the first thirteen-year-old to sink the most backward free throws in a row. He also wants to be as good with cars as his dad someday.
When Reese finds his dad unresponsive on the floor of their apartment, his mother, Amanda, decides enough is enough. The two move out to live in a trailer on the Smith property.
Initially, Reese is oppositional and defiant, refusing to interact with Meg and Charlie, the Smith’s grandchildren. However, as he hears their story, he realizes that sometimes there’s nothing we can do to help. At one point in the novel, Cochran relates an incident with a snapping turtle that makes an accurate analogy to how our efforts to help the ones we love can be complicated.
At another poignant point, Meg asks Reese: “Do you think you’re the only one stuck in a life that doesn’t look like it’s supposed to? Do you think you’re the only one who’s stuck with problems they can’t fix? Do you think my life or Charlie’s’ life looks like anything we want?” (273).
With this tirade, readers realize that with much of life, we’re simply stuck, and we have to navigate the turbulence as best we can, using our resources and relying on friendship.
- Donna