Late Blight in the Ko’olaus: A Novel

2022 "Best Literary" Book Award Winner, Indies Today

"Barnes illuminates places that too often remain hidden." -Vince Granata, Author, Everything is Fine: A Memoir

Seven years after pleading not guilty by reason of insanity, Avery West agonizes over the reality that his time at the Hawaiʻi State Hospital is ending. He can't imagine a life beyond the confines of his psychiatric facility, even if his schizophrenic symptoms are finally in remission. But having spent most of his adult life surviving with mental illness, he has found stability and is terrified of losing everything he's fought for. Yet despite his reservations, Avery's treatment team insists he's ready to move on with his life.

After becoming the newest addition to a local sober home, Avery struggles to adapt to a world that fears and views him as damaged goods. Any slip-up will see him hospitalized again, tearing him away from a daughter who deserves to have her father back. But when he becomes involved with a coworker who believes Western Medicine has failed him to no end, Avery toys with the idea of what life in a perfect world would look like. Faced with controlling his destiny, can he hold it together or will he spiral into rapid decline?

From the award-winning author of One Hit Away comes Late Blight in the Koʻolaus, a galvanizing novel exploring the complexities and stigma of mental health, schizoaffective disorder, and where one goes after being found not guilty by reason of insanity.

"Barnes illuminates places that too often remain hidden. He expertly reveals the complexities of mental health care systems while crafting a captivating story of recovery and hope. Above all, Barnes' empathy for his characters shines through. No one is reduced to their diagnosis, or addiction, or tragic past. Late Blight in the Koʻolaus eviscerates stigma, resists easy narratives, and invites the reader along on an unforgettable journey, one that society often pushes to the margins or out of view entirely. A stunning, revealing, and necessary read."

-Vince Granata, Author, Everything is Fine: A Memoir

"With rich details and vivid Hawaiian imagery, Jordan P. Barnes explores a critical question: is it better to be a captive in a place that is safe, but predictable, or free in a world that is full of risks, but also possibilities? Late Blight in the Koʻolaus is about mental illness, recovery, and the healing power of nature, but most of all, it is about the courage it takes to start over."

-Jessica Ekhoff, Author, Super Sad Unicorn: A Memoir of Mania