Getting Humor Out of Toxic Family Relationships Author Thomas Whaley has turned toxic family relationships into humor. He was inspired to write a book for adults called “Leaving Montana”. This book explores a toxic family relationship with hilarity and sarcasm. In his book “Leaving Montana”, his main character Benjamin Sean Quinn has had a lifetime of anger issues caused by his toxic parents. At first glance, it appeared he had a great life. No thanks to his parents he managed to have a great relationship with his own family, and a great job. To some, he had the perfect life. But no one knew that he had to strive to end the toxic cycle. Thomas Whaley has written about a serious topic with humor, and sarcasm. He handles this harsh topic by keeping the reader interested in the book, and embellishes it with a good chuckle throughout. Benjamin Sean Quinn is forced to relive his childhood when his father tells him a secret. Ben must board a plane back to Montana to finally conquer the last of the painful memories. Author Whaley has managed to write a book that keeps the reader engaged, and curious as to the outcome of the story. His style is quite similar to authors like David Sedaris. David Sedaris’s new book “Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls” sounds a lot like a children’s book, but is actually humor written for adults. Thomas Whaley has won many awards in his writing career. Just last year he won the NYSECTA Teacher of the Year Award for his fantastic teaching skills. This year he has won the 2015 Eric Hoffer Award for a small press published work. The Eric Hoffer Award is for the memory of the American philosopher Eric Hoffer, and highlights the most important works in the small small publishing world. He’s also won the 2015 National Indie Excellence Book Award for Literary Fiction. The NIEA strives to find the finest independently published book in the USA that embodies best writing style, engaging plot, and well-edited.
Whaley is from Long Island, and has lived there his entire life. He currently lives in Shoreham with his husband, two sons, and dog. From his early childhood, he was a writer. He’d write poems, short stories, and scripts for plays that his friends would act out. Straight into childhood he enjoyed entertaining children, which had a big influence on his career path. He went from working in the Big Apple, to becoming an elementary school teacher when he was twentyseven years old. Whaley discovered he could combine his two passions together, and decided to write children’s books for his students, and his own children. He’s also an avid reader, and books that make him laugh are at the top of his reading list. He keeps active in the writing community, with memberships in SCBWI, NAMW, and LIAWS. Fans of Thomas Whalley are holding their breaths to see whether he writes another children’s book, or another adult’s book about toxic family relationships, possibly another candidate to next year’s indie publisher awards. Visit: http://thomaswhaley.com/