The Garratyverse: A Life Told in Echoes

🧩 The Garratyverse: A Mosaic of Memory and Connection

Reunion: A Story

 “A lyrical tale of regret for chances not taken, told in dreams and memories.” – Denise Longrie

The emotional nucleus. Set primarily on one day in June 1983, it captures the ache of unspoken feeling and the quiet fracture of youth. Bookended by scenes in 1998, it introduces Jim Garraty as both a high school senior and a man revisiting the emotional fault lines of his past.

Reunion: Coda

“I really enjoy the way Alex creates characters because they very much feel like real people.” – Pooja Gudka

A prequel-sequel hybrid that deepens and reframes the novella. It opens in 2000, then loops back to that same June 1983 day—this time from a different emotional vantage. From there, it traces Jim’s journey from January 1981 to June 2000, exploring how one moment reverberates across decades. It’s not just a continuation—it’s a reckoning, a meditation on presence, regret, and emotional fluency.

Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen

“I am very fond of reading about Jim Garraty, and this short story keeps the standard up. Lyrical writing, very thoughtful and a beautiful encounter.” – Meg Learner

A direct sequel to Reunion: A Story, set in 1984 Boston, capturing Jim’s first experience with physical intimacy. But it’s not spectacle—it’s sanctuary. The story honors the emotional choreography of trust, the quiet miracle of being noticed, and the dignity of vulnerability. It’s the moment Jim begins to understand connection not as performance, but as presence.

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Together, these works form a recursive emotional arc:

• Reunion: A Story asks: What do we carry from youth?
• Reunion: Coda answers: How do we live with what we carried?
• Comings and Goings reveals: What happens when someone sees us—truly—for the first time?