Life is full of choices. A simple twist of fate can send someone towards a winning lottery ticket or into a life filled with fear, confusion and sadness. Life choices can also be a breeding ground for resilience and determination. In the new novel, "Adrift" by author Will Dean, Peggy Jenkins and her son Samson, struggle to make good life choices in the world controlled by Peggy’s domineering and dangerous husband Drew. The fine line that separates good and bad choices can be life-altering.

Peggy and Samson attempt to live a normal life on their rickety and slowly deteriorating house boat that Drew chose for them to live on. Drew controls every aspect of Peggy and Samson’s daily existence and fancies himself a distinguished writer similar in stature to Ernest Hemingway. Drew demands total subservience from Peggy and Samson and must have total silence in order to finish his novel. He intimidates Peggy and Samson into believing that their purpose in life is to serve his every whim. However, Peggy and Samson both long for a time when they can be out from under Drews’ thumb.

"Adrift" is the story of hard choices that impact everyday lives. Peggy and Samson could be the quintessential picture of victims of abuse and control. They are forced to take their lives into their own hands in order to save themselves from Drew and his horrible way of life. The trauma that comes with living in a volatile situation like Peggy and Samson is readily identifiable to many people who are forced to make their own hard choices in order to survive. This trauma does not disappear but can last for a lifetime.

Author Will Dean has written an excellent suspense novel. The narrative does its job in leading the reader to hope for the appropriate resolution for Peggy, Samson and Drew. The underlying trauma and confusion support the story as it incorporates the use of flashbacks, environmental descriptions and allowing the reader to know what Peggy and Samson are thinking as they contemplate getting away from Drew. The outcome of the story is both predictable and engaging. "Adrift" could benefit from a sequel that describes Peggy and Samson as they move on with their lives and seek to find some sense of normalcy in a world that they are discovering for the first time.