We're All Damaged Summary
Matthew Norman

We're All Damaged Overview

Matthew Norman’s second novel, We’re All Damaged, follows the life of Andy Carter after he has hit a rough patch. His wife has left him, he lost his job, and he ruined his best friend’s wedding, so he has moved to New York to start a new life. Working as a bartender, he is not exactly happy. He continuously pines for his ex, and he lives in a small apartment and a temperamental cat named Jeter visits often to eat Cap’n Crunch and leave dead mice on his doorstep. After being stood up on a blind date, when things seem like they cannot get worse, Andy is called home to say goodbye to his ailing grandfather. He is forced to confront his past, which includes his ex-wife and her new boyfriend, along with his brother, his right-wing mother, his parent’s crumbling marriage and his still-angry best friend. He meets Daisy, an eccentric young woman with 15 tattoos and her own painful past who claims her mission is to make him happy again. Daisy pushes Andy to become a different person—a better person—and it may be just what he needs to have a second chance at life. The themes that occur in the story include unattainable women, broken relationships, being stuck in the past, dealing with rejection and hurt, and family is forever.