Before Pittsburgh

Tony's death sends Brian's life into disarray. Rather than marking time by the calendar, he measures it by place. His Barcelona nights are a blur of bar fights and threesomes. In San Francisco, the months go to short stories and a new romance. Stretches in Tucson, Nashville, Manila and Seattle follow his friends, a group known as The Crew, as they grow up and drift apart. The story spans three years, from the time before Tony died to the time after.

Brian believes he has finally left Virginia and the ghosts he associates with it behind him. Then September 11 brings everything to a halt and hands him a fresh devastation. With a great deal of work left undone, his world widens in unexpected directions while still falling back into familiar patterns of loss, redemption and mourning.

The novel asks whether Brian can earn a place in the lives of the people he loves, or whether he will remain disconnected, unforgiven and alone.