We’re All Damaged starts off with the main character, Andy, being dumped by his wife over dinner in an Applebee’s restaurant. This first scene alone has you either feeling sorry for him or rooting for him right off the bat, or both. The story that follows entails how his life seemed to go downhill from there, but he eventually discovers that he’s not alone in that regard.

Andy loses his job, ruins his best-friend’s wedding, and moves to New York City to – you  guessed it – start a new life. What does his new life entail? A tiny apartment, a job as the third-best bartender at a local pub, a nearly non-existent dating life, and an erratic cat with an attitude that is not his pet. Andy seems reluctantly content until he receives news that his grandfather is dying, so he has to go back home in Omaha to say goodbye and is forced to confront his past in the process.

As we progress through the story, we learn that Andy’s list of confrontations consists of his ex-wife and new (handsome and muscular) live-in boyfriend, conservative radio-talk-show-host mother, his parents’ failing marriage, and his estranged best friend. As Andy faces the destruction he caused over a year ago, we continue to root for him while shaking our heads at some of his actions (such as visiting his ex-wife’s house in the middle of the night, drunk, and kicking the head off of a lawn gnome). Luckily for our protagonist, Daisy comes to save the day.

Daisy is a beautiful, young, mysterious woman, who happens to know Andy’s grandfather and knows a lot about Andy as well. Her outgoing and headstrong personality seems to be just what Andy needs to get his head back in the game (makeover and all). However, it’s not clear as to how she became friends with Andy’s grandfather until we get towards the end of the book. The truth is shocking and heartbreaking, and makes us rethink our relationships with our loved ones.

Matthew Norman has a talent for comedic writing; the ridiculous situations for his characters – such as his retired father shooting squirrels in the backyard with a paintball gun, or a gay rights activists group decorating Andy’s parents’ front lawn with sex dolls and dildos in hopes to discourage his mom from speaking out against same-sex marriage – were humorous to say the least. However, I also laughed out loud at the dialogue: “Actually, the first time I saw one in real life, I thought of the Great Pit of Carkoon in Return of the Jedi.” “Okay, well, I officially take back my previous comment about you knowing a thing or two about vaginas.” “Understandable.”

Throughout the book, I couldn’t help but compare it to the film This is Where I Leave You (2014); both stories are very similar in plot development and character relationships, yet We’re All Damaged contains references to political issues, pop culture, living in the Midwest, and the Chicago Cubs. The characters were likable, relatable, and yes, damaged. Daisy is annoyingly stereotypical in her treating Andy as her new “project”, but her actions were necessary to help him grow. He gets closure with his ex-wife, who doesn’t seem to have the fairy-tale ending he assumed she did. His reconciliation with his best friend is trite but endearing. And more left-leaning readers may appreciate the karma coming for Andy’s mother.

Readers should be ready for graphic language and some stereotypical occurrences and personality tropes, but the ending is hopeful and not-so-cliche. Anyone who has been dumped and tossed aside, turned into a trainwreck, has had to put themselves back together again, has a somewhat dysfunctional family unit, or all of the above, will have their own support group in We’re All Damaged.

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