Stranded in Skin and Bones follows a boy’s life from the day he routinely returns home from middle school to discover that his mother has fled her marriage, abandoned her children, and taken most of the furniture and belongings from their home. And out of this moment Stofel is left to face the world on his own, with less than no help from the adults in his life, and with all the help of his melancholy group of friends—Coconut, an orphan at the Baptist Children’s home; and Jill, a Christian, who has a difficult time remaining faithful to her convictions. Through it all Stofel brings X-ray vision to this strip-search of the human soul and psyche, sparing no one—including himself. The result is a memoir packed with enough explosive scenes and quirky, dysfunctional souls—searching for purpose and meaning—that you will find yourself cheering for their utter survival. Always redemptive, sometimes hilarious and poignant, even disturbing, but fundamentally wise on the subjects of darkness and light, substance abuse and recovery, Stofel takes the human struggle to the streets of faith. It’s an utterly fresh take on the painful process of redemption and our need for better education. It’s Tara Westover’s Educated on drugs with a dash of faith and recovery.