Managed Care

by Joe Barrett

Overview

"Funniest book I've ever read." -Tom McCaffrey, bestselling author of The Wise Ass

Is it too much to ask that a managed care facility refund a year's advance payment when your grandfather dies before he can move in?

Frank Johnson doesn't think so, which is why the thirty-three-year-old now lives in a nursing home, locked in a chess match feud with management that doesn't occupy nearly enough of his time.

When foster kid Elroy is thrust into his life, Frank decides to turn this forced relationship to his advantage - launching a string of absurd decisions, inappropriate behaviors and unexpected glimpses of tenderness that ultimately turn a New Jersey suburb upside down. A laugh-out-loud celebration of bad choices for good causes, Managed Care is an offbeat story about three misfits on the social fringes of suburbia and their ridiculous campaign to introduce an unfiltered version of intimacy to their stale, impersonal community. Because, according to Frank, it's probably what Jesus would have wanted.

Grab a copy Managed Care today... Kirkus Reviews calls it, "Witty, occasionally crass, and an unqualified delight!"

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781685133184
Publisher:	Black Rose Writing
Publication date:	05/18/2023
Pages:	310
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.81(d)

About the Author

Joe Barrett has spent the past twenty-five years as a chief executive of entrepreneurial organizations ranging from private, venture-funded companies to large publicly-listed multinational corporations. He has been a frequent speaker at National Retail Federation conferences and has sat on the boards of several for-profit and non-profit companies. His short fiction has been published in Iconoclast, The Storyteller and The Palo Alto Review. He lives with his wife and two children in New Jersey.

Editorial Reviews

Maxy Awards "Book of the Year" 2019

Pencraft Awards "Best Fiction Book of 2019"

2020 Eric Hoffer Book Award Best Fiction - Honorable Mention

"Witty, occasionally crass, and an unqualified delight." -Kirkus Reviews

"An absolutely sensational debut novel filled with dry humor, heartfelt moments, and exceptional characters." -Sublime Book Review

"A master storyteller and humorist." -Authors Reading

""This irreverent romp is full of laugh-out-loud dialogue and a zany plot that ultimately leads with heart." -US Review of Books

From the Publisher

2018-11-06

In Barrett's debut farcical novel, a 30-something man living in a managed care facility finds unlikely allies in two middle schoolers.

New Jersey computer programmer Frank Johnson expects reimbursement after his grandfather dies prior to his stay at the Hardy Managed Care Facility. But as Ed Hardy refuses to refund Frank's one-year advance payment, Frank moves in (perfectly legal, since he shares his name with his late grandfather). After six months of living in Room 422, he and Hardy are at a stalemate. Frank then meets Elroy, a 12-year-old foster kid, who's at the facility as part of Rudolphsville Middle School's newly minted Outreach Club. Elroy is just there to read to Frank, but this arrangement becomes an opportunity for Frank to enjoy time off campus. Hardy, of course, won't let Frank choose a destination, but he likes Elroy's idea: take Frank to a Catholic church for confession, an outing Hardy assumes Frank will despise. Frank's excursions soon include the only other Outreach Club member, Sally Berman. Incidentally, Frank's confessions inspire him to "fix" the church by providing what he believes is missing: intimacy. Though Frank revels in impudence (he wears and periodically endorses adult diapers), his gradual affection for his preteen pals is endearing. For example, Elroy's elation at merely spending time with someone else's family gets an emotional response from Frank, a self-professed "pretty hard-edged loner." Elroy is a sympathetic character, enduring school bullies and living with an elderly couple unsuitable for fostering. Sally, too, recently lost her beloved Aunt Sadie to suicide and, burdened with an indifferent mother, becomes suicidal herself. The bond among the main characters, including the kids' potential romance, is charming. Less engaging, however, is Frank's plan regarding the church. But it's a great excuse for the trio's frequent bouts of hilarious banter.

Witty, occasionally crass, and an unqualified delight.

Kirkus Reviews