And There We Were and Here We Are

Jerry didn’t come to New York to be a bartender, though that seems to be what happened. Grappling with life’s disappointments and the fact that his ex-fiancé is now a TV star, he learns that the other love of his life, Violet, was recently hit by a cab and killed. Numb with loss and regret, Jerry is sleep walking through a hung-over life when he learns that Violet wrote a novel about when they were young, hopeful servers at a Times Square restaurant. Reliving the years of call-backs and shift drinks, Jerry searches the words of his self-destructive soul-mate, trying to reconcile his past, and find the hope he lost along the way. With unflinching honesty, Brooks’ wry novel-within-a-novel lays bare the reality of breaking into show business, while living paycheck-to-paycheck in one of the most expensive cities in the world. If you like struggling artists, NYC night life and a good stiff drink, you will love this heartfelt story of redemption.