Washing Off the Glue

A fiction novel

Washing Off the Glue is a modern coming-of-age story of art, madness, loss, and love. It runs about 70,000 words.

Marie’s father left a note: Don’t go looking for me—you’ll ruin the surprise. Marie, still in her first year of high school, longs to reconnect with her happy-go-lucky dad and spends the next ten years of her life looking for him.

But from Boston to San Francisco, from Internet searches to private investigators, to visits with far-flung relatives, the search gets her into trouble. First, there’s the problem of debt: Marie runs up massive credit card bills, believing that, if only she had enough money, she could reunite her family. Second, she’s dealing with constantly feeling euphoric one moment and suicidal the next.

As her artistic career blossoms and the trail to her father finally shows promise, Marie’s psychological challenges intensify. But when she finally finds her father—in a surprising state that could foreshadow her own future—Marie faces the most challenging question of all: Now that she’s found him, does she actually want him in her life?