"With compassion and superb craftsmanship, Eddie Mark invokes a world of fascinating and unforgettable characters whose trials and tears become our own. The Garden of Unfortunate Souls is a powerful debut by a writer concerned, first and foremost, with the human heart." -Charles Johnson, National Book Award-winning author of Middle Passage Phillis Wheatley Award Winner for First Fiction African American Literary Award Nominee for Breakout Author of the Year Readers' Favorite 5-stars In this award-winning coming-of-age story, two families grapple with the effects of child abuse in 1980s Buffalo, New York. Loretta Ford, an eccentric single mother and religious fanatic, lives a reclusive life with her twelve-year-old son, Shadrack. Convinced that harsh discipline is the only way to save a boy, she uses a brand of corporal punishment that blurs the line between parental love and physical violence. Cornelius Brooks is the mayor of Buffalo. His dysfunctional relationship with his children is threatening to ruin his family and his career. When an unlikely incident brings these two troubled parents face-to-face, what transpires is a meeting full of suspicion, bribery, and a host of secrets raging to get out. Their confrontation sets off a chain of events that will haunt both families forever. Lyrically beautiful and stunningly honest, The Garden of Unfortunate Souls is a masterwork of storytelling by Wheatley Award-winner Eddie Mark.