About The Author

Maura Lin is a psychiatric nurse by profession, but a writer at heart. Her own experiences and her many years working with patients and families have informed much of her writing. The bulk of her writing - published and personal - has been based on professional experiences and insights. She has written primarily about contemporary life, focusing on ordinary human beings and their fascinating and bewildering struggles to find peace for themselves in a paradoxical world - one filled with opportunities - both life-affirming and destructive.

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Any Joe

Overview

This is a novel about Joe and Cherie, two young people who must negotiate their environment, and family and peer influences in the morally ambiguous, sexually-infused culture of the 1990's and early 2000's. Can they stay true to themselves, or will they succumb to the worst effects of adversity? Their story is one we can all relate to on some level: How do any of us navigate the effects of environment and culture when their messages conflict with our values and our own autonomy?

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Description

They knew each other growing up and they're full-fledged adults in 2013, but their lives are aimed in vastly different directions. Joe is arrested and charged with felony sex offenses, while Cherie is in graduate school, on the path to a promising career. Joe and Cherie grew up in the same neighborhood, shared a mutual adolescent crush, and came from loving, if imperfect homes. As adolescents, both experienced life-changing trauma. This is the story of how two young people negotiate the influences of their environment, and family and peer relationships, amidst societal and cultural change in the mid 1990's and early 2000's, a time flooded with sexual explicitness and morally ambiguous messages. These phenomena complicate Joe and Cherie's lives by playing on their individual vulnerabilities, especially in the face of corruption and cruelty. Once Joe and Cherie reconnect as adults, their past experiences and human frailties come back into play, rendering untenable prospects for their future.


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Book details

  • Genre:fiction
  • Sub-genre:Family Life / General
  • Language:English
  • Pages:340
  • eBook ISBN:9781667832319
  • Paperback ISBN:9781667832302

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Book Reviews

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N
Any Joe: Who is Victim? Maura Lin’s Any Joe leaves the reader with tics of anxiety. Who knows the true heart or mind of the perpetrator who has also been victimized? Why do some victims blame themselves? Hapless, unworldly youth may fail to question social media’s claim that sex is there for the taking. The author examines these issues and others through the eyes and experiences of Joe and Cherie from early adolescence to young adulthood. Details of the home lives of various characters reveal both the warmth and coldness of humanity. Any Joe is a book of contrasts. Is the road from victimhood to victimization direct or indirect? Youth, adults, media, law enforcement, and the courts each play a role. But Lin’s tale suggests a path—one which holds out redemption as an alternative destination. Read more
Nancy
"Any Joe" - Poignant, page-turning! "Any Joe" is a compelling story of two young people from good homes and respectable neighborhoods. Joe and Cherie want nothing more than to be loved and accepted like others their age. Yet, the author tactfully brings to light a sordid reality: innocence can be breached by those who overstep boundaries that should never be crossed. The book is well-written and hard to put down. I felt great compassion for the main characters and heartbreak for what they endured. Maura Lin provides an in-depth perspective into the life-changing effects of trauma and its rippling aftermath. "Joe" could have been any young man; "Cherie" could have been any young lady. I highly recommend this book. There are truths that must be told. Secrets that must be revealed. What happened to a few--could happen to many. Read more