Reuniting with deeply-admired colleagues is always a joy. Reuniting with colleagues who leave you feeling like a rock star is utterly fabulous.
Such was my feeling after Suzanne Strempek Shea — my former newspaper colleague, writing mentor and fellow MFA creative nonfiction writing instructor — interviewed me for a book talk about my novel, Louie on the Rocks, at the Odyssey Bookshop in South Hadley. Suzanne has an uncanny ability of asking incisive questions that frequently give me pause and make me wonder why I’ve never thought of that particular angle before.
Our back-and-forth, as well as the questions from attendees, focused a great deal on the subjects of my vacillating between different writing genres, and how I rendered on the page an authentic depiction of people who hold different political beliefs than I hold. That’s a question I’m getting a lot. It’s no secret that I’m adamantly opposed to all things MAGA and what’s happening under the Trump administration, but when I was developing the character of Louie Francis, I placed my personal politics inside a box and shoved aside. My charge was to create a fully-developed character and figure out how he thought. Additionally, I wanted to illustrate that, in spite of our currently polarized climate, Louie wasn’t and shouldn’t be perceived as just one thing, as just a MAGA dude. He was a good and supportive husband, a loving son-in-law, a reliable employee, and a respected volunteer in his community. Writing Louie required me to think more fulsomely about the layers and texture of his life, not simply through the lens of his politics.
Afterward during the book signing portion, I had the chance to chat with folks and was thrilled to see my very first friend in my hometown of West Springfield there in attendance — Gina! — as well as two pals from my UMass-Amherst days. And the support from the Bay Path University MFA in Creative Nonfiction community, wow, it made me feel blessed. In addition to Suzanne, there was her husband Tommy Shea (who mentored me when I was a young newspaper reporter), former MFA director Leanna James Blackwell, and Anne Pinkerton, with whom I had classes when I earned my own MFA from Bay Path.
Included among the attendees were MFA in creative nonfiction students of mine from Bay Path, as well as a dear friend from my Massachusetts hometown, and even a relative from the Philly area.
It was a meaty conversation and no, I didn’t spend most of the time looking like I was casting a Harry Potteresque spell that the still image above might suggest. A review of the video, however, shows me how much I use my hands when I talk.
The Washington Independent Review of Books gave kudos to Louie on the Rocks in a recent review saying, “With sharp, clear prose and a grounded tone, [O’Brien] captures a fascinating snapshot of American dysfunction in the Trump era.”
The review concludes this way:
“For readers of all political stripes, much of Louie on the Rocks will likely feel familiar. Lulu groans at the cruel memes and insults her father posts on Facebook, a platform that thrives on discord and hatefulness. Louie doesn’t see a problem. It’s easy to imagine this book one day — when MAGA inevitably recedes — being categorized as a simple, occasionally over-the-top satire. Future readers, laughing at the absurdity it portrays, may not understand just how true to life it is.”
In spite of ominous snowy weather outside, I was thrilled that friends, family, and interested readers showed up to Tatnuck Bookseller in Westborough, Mass. help me launch Louie on the Rocks into the world.
Fellow UMass-Amherst alum Kevin Koczwara — who once took a media criticism class with me there — asked ample creative and probing questions about political polarization, journalism, and family conflicts.
As I signed copies of books, a number of people shared that they, like the Francis family in Louie, have experienced family angst and division in the Trump era (both the current one and the previous one). I told them I hoped that, as they read the novel, that they feel seen and understood.
Bookstagrammers have been so amazingly generous with their time and their compliments for my latest darkly comedic novel, Louie on the Rocks (on sale now!). Here’s a sample:
Louie is a grumpy 66-year-old man who lost his wife six months prior. Louie is estranged from his daughter, who gets pulled back into his life after she finds out how Louie is living. Though they have extremely opposing views on politics and most things in life, she aims to get Louie the help and support he needs.
Brilliantly told through multiple perspectives, including Louie’s deceased wife, this story examines a grieving family polarized by politics. It was an eye-opening and insightful exploration of how deeply affecting politics can be within a family unit that doesn’t see eye to eye. Though politics is a main theme within this book, the reader does not need to be an expert in the subject to sympathize with these characters. The brokenness of this family goes well beyond their political differences. It was easy to feel for these characters.
There is a sarcastic, humorous tone throughout this novel which kept the heaviness from overshadowing the story. I enjoyed the authors writing and how she sprinkled in witty prose to offset the darkness. This family dynamic is heart breaking and grief-filled, yet there were many moments I was smiling and laughing.
The chapters are short, making this easy to fly through. There are legal document entries scattered throughout which gives a refreshing break to the narrative.
Upon reflection, I am surprised with how much I loved this book. This book has a heavy focus on American politics so being Canadian, and not considering myself any sort of political guru, this was outside of my comfort zone yet it worked incredibly well for me. It’s a book I’ll remember reading for a long time. I highly recommend you try it for yourself!
I loved Pumpkin, Louie’s late wife’s dog that is a central part of the story!🐾
@briannethebookworm: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 I’ll start with saying Louie was an extremely triggering and infuriating character that was hard to empathize with. I pitied him for letting Cristall take advantage of him the way he did, but the way he treated Lulu and refused to compromise made it hard to give him any leniency. It was entertaining to have Helen’s perspective of the events from the grave, and I felt for her having to mediate Louie and Lulu’s relationship for decades; however I don’t think having her background knowledge and context of Lulu and Louie’s relationship added to the story significantly. I felt similarly about Cristall’s brief chapter at the end. Overall, I enjoyed the book and looked forward to picking it up each time to witness the dysfunctional Francis family. Louie was a spot-on stereotype of some Trump supporters, and many readers will relate to the struggles of navigating familial relationships when political views and values are vastly different. Grab your copy this week!
@livingmybookishlife: Our nation is divided like never before. There are Lulus and there are Louies. I am most definitely a Lulu. This review and book will resonate with Lulus. Louies will hate both.
𝗟𝗢𝗨𝗜𝗘 𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗢𝗖𝗞𝗦 is a tale of our time; an allegory of current events. It’s a hard lesson wrapped in an often humorous, always engaging piece of fiction. It’s a warning that we should have heeded, but ignored these past four years. It is a sad and sobering reflection of the destructive power of hate. It is where we find ourselves again and I’m both ashamed and frightened.
On its face, this is a story of the damage caused to one family by extreme politics told through three distinct points of view. Louie is MAGA to the core. A FOX News watching, conspiracy theory believer who searched for and found places to have his hate validated. At his core he is an insecure man battling demons of alcoholism and jealousy. Lulu is his estranged left leaning lesbian daughter. Their relationship was never solid and was irrevocably damaged when he refused to accept her sexual orientation and, instead, used hateful slurs to demean and belittle her. Helen is the recently deceased family matriarch who held them together by the thinnest of threads. Now that Helen is gone, all hell has broken loose.
It feels ironic that I finished this book on a day which sees the nation both honoring MLK, JR. and witnessing Trump’s second inauguration. One man stood for the power of love to conquer hate while the other uses vitriol to divide in pursuit of personal gain. The differences could not be more striking. Meredith O’Brien’s brutally honest and bitingly funny work of fiction should be a warning to us all. Sadly, I fear the Louies who learned nothing from history will continue to revel in the chaos.
Finally, to Ms. O’Brien: “Louie on the Rocks” is a brilliant and twisted play on words. IYKYK
@jaypippi: Finishing the yet-to-be-released Louie on the Rocks by Meredith O’Brien felt eerily on point today. This darkly funny, painfully relatable story dives into the fractures of family, grief, and division in the Trump era.
After losing their matriarch, MAGA dad Louie spirals into alcoholism, while his liberal, queer daughter Lulu fights to save both her father and their broken bond. Told in part through the ghostly narration of Louie’s late wife, Helen, the story gives a bittersweet perspective as she watches her family unravel.
Lulu’s identity as a lesbian adds another layer of tension, as she struggles to stay true to herself while navigating her father’s conservative worldview.
This book made me pause and reflect. We all know that family member who’s fallen down the rabbit hole, don’t we? And as the last breaths of democracy seem to sputter out, there are those who fear tomorrow, and others who celebrate it. Fathers, sisters, cousins—people we love—on opposite sides of history.
Messy, raw, and deeply relatable, Louie on the Rocks will make you laugh, cry, and reflect on your own relationships. It’s a reminder of how complicated family can be—and how love and humanity might still cut through the noise, even in the most divided time.
@bobbijoreads: It’s MAGA vs. LGBTQ+ in this dark humor domestic drama. Louis (father) and Lulu (daughter) are at odds while Helen (mom) watches and commentates from the afterlife.
I loved the format of this book with the three alternating POVs and Affidavits mixed in throughout. I loved the character of Lulu, her relationship with her girlfriend Jules, and the way Helen loved her and embraced them both. The family dynamics (like toxic peacekeeping from Helen & fighting between Louis and Lulu) felt extremely real and relatable. Louis name-calling everyone who wasn’t enabling him, and refusing to take accountability perfectly mirrored his idolization.
The ending caught me off guard but also fit so so well into the story. I wouldn’t have changed a thing.
@libraryscented: This book is a brilliant snapshot of how polarizing American politics have become since 2019. The story is told thru the voices of Louie, his deceased wife (ghost), Helen, and his daughter, Lulu.
Like much of America these days, Louie & Lulu have VERY different political views and it is destroying any semblance of family they have left.
This story will have you on the edge of your seat wondering how it will all play out.
@shopcoffeekids: This novel plays into today’s household landscape divided by politics. We meet a queer young women and her alcoholic father whose buffer in the home has recently passed away.
Louie on the Rocks is told through multiple POV’s, including the deceased mother, which moves the story along nicely with its short chapters. This book is a bit heavy in its reality, humorous and definitely thought-provoking.
When I sat down to my newly-assigned desk in the middle of the bustling and messy Springfield, Mass. offices of what was then called The Union-News, I was unaware that, diagonally across from me was a fellow reporter with whom I would go on to develop a long-term professional relationship.
Suzanne Strempek Shea, who became an award-winning author and writing instructor, would be the reason why I enrolled in the Bay Path University creative nonfiction MFA program she helped create. She’d also be the reason why I later became an instructor for that same program. She’d eventually blurb nearly every book of mine as I followed in her footsteps of leaving daily reporting and plunging into the worlds of writing and teaching.
I remain grateful for her willingness to carefully read and blurb my work, including this one she wrote for Louie on the Rocks:
A truly cautionary tale for anyone who worries for the welfare of a vulnerable elder, Louie on the Rocks reads like the real life that Meredith O’Brien chronicled so skillfully in her newspaper days. Here she presents both sides of the case for and against alcoholic, widowed retiree Louie Francis’ ability to run his own life, an existence also pocked by a drug-addicted girlfriend half his age who fills his need for companionship and MAGA-wear while emptying his bank account. Narrator Louie’s chapters are interwoven with those bearing the distinct voices and points of view of his gay daughter grieving her mother and trying to do the best for a surviving parent who returns only hatred, and his late wife, who watches from beyond while recounting her life and the parts she played in making both father are daughter who they’ve become, and might yet be. The story is further enriched by the character and characters of the author’s Central Massachusetts, and by her first-hand knowledge of small-town life and all its complexities.
Fellow writer and full-time literature professor, Sarahlyn Bruck was kind enough to feature a Q&A we did about my work as a writer and, specifically, my forthcoming novel, Louie on the Rocks.
Please join me in celebrating the launch of my latest book, Louie on the Rocks, at Tatnuck Bookseller in Westborough, Mass. on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 4 p.m.
I’m honored that Worcester writer Kevin Koczwara — a former UMass-Amherst journalism student of mine — will be there to lead a writerly conversation with me about the book and its many themes, ranging from how political polarization affects families to how adult children should deal with struggling older parents.
After the conversation, we’ll do a Q&A, I’ll read a bit from the book, and then sign copies.
Meredith OBrien 