Editorial Content for Take Me with You

Acclaimed for his wit and keen emotional insight, bestselling author Steven Rowley delivers his most tender, joyful and bittersweet novel yet with TAKE ME WITH YOU, a poignant meditation on queer love, aging and identity.

For 30 years, Norman and Jesse have battled the highs and lows of life together. Now that they are both approaching their 60s, they have each become a bit set in their ways and self-reflections. This is par for the course for any couple, but it’s also a world of both possibility and potential for two gay men who never expected to make it to such a big age --- and together, no less. The milestones they’ve shared are impressive and awe-inspiring, yet the heat of their love affair has begun to cool, and both men have started to feel stuck. Grappling with the realities of their age and life together, they remark, “We’re too young to be old. We’re too old to be young.”

But when a strange storm descends over their Joshua Tree home one evening, Jesse is shocked when he witnesses a mysterious light pour from the sky and retract, taking his beloved Norman with it. It seems that his husband has been unceremoniously abducted by aliens, and he’s not sure what that means for him.

Picking up 19 days later, we learn that, true to his nature as a comedic novelist, Jesse has settled into his existence as abandoned and bereaved with a wry irreverence. He has called neither the police nor the funeral home --- and why should he? It’s hard enough for him to believe that Norman was abducted, and the world of justice is not typically forgiving of queer perpetrators…or victims. Also, given the fact that his husband disappeared so suddenly, isn’t it just as likely that he will return just as abruptly?

"From light-beam abductions to finding oneself, TAKE ME WITH YOU is quintessential Steven Rowley --- a bittersweet but quietly hopeful and affirming meditation on the human condition, the fear of living honestly, and the strength that comes with purpose."

And then there’s the most painful truth of all: Norman had become obsessed with aliens and UFOs in the last few months, and it was no secret that they were feeling stuck in their marriage. So what if Norman was not taken at all, but rather chose to leave? The possibility is too horrifying to consider, so Jesse alternates between shock, disbelief, acceptance and denial. Besides, he has other things on his mind. After winning a writing award some years ago, he has found himself unable to access the trademark humor that once earned him acclaim and book deals. This means that his latest novel has not materialized, and he has had to return to teaching at the local college.

On his first day, Jesse humorously announces to his six students that “I can’t teach anyone to be funny,” much to their horror, and swiftly delivers their first assignment: to write about a time they felt abandoned and make it funny. “My husband was abducted by aliens,” he then quips to his boss, a truth hiding in a joke. Though he has yet to tell anyone about Norman’s disappearance, it is clear that the loss is poking holes in his carefully maintained life.

Trained now in expecting the unexpected, Jesse is not surprised when he spies a shadowy visitor on his porch one afternoon, but it is neither his husband nor the authorities. It’s Lally, Norman’s flight attendant sister. While the three were once very close, Jesse and Norman’s move to Joshua Tree and Lally’s career have kept them apart for longer than anticipated, and Rowley hints at a past disagreement as well. Covering up Norman’s disappearance with a fictional work trip, Jesse readies himself to hear why Lally has come to their remote home, and the surprise is almost as big as that of his husband’s abduction.

Years ago, Lally helped create embryos for the gay couple, and now, facing her own age and mortality, she wants them back. Layered into her story is one of Norman’s family and the loss of a younger brother, but her request also ties into Jesse’s past and his and Norman’s attempt to become parents, awakening an anger in Jesse. Why is he forced to deal with the repercussions of Norman’s abduction, and why is he the one left picking up the pieces of their relationship? The novel here takes on a cerebral, existential tone as Jesse starts to wonder if he has always been just a passenger in their relationship and if he ever has had a true identity of his own.

In the following pages, Jesse continues to teach and learn from his comedy writing students, deal with Lally’s suspicions about Norman’s true whereabouts, and (slowly but surely) come into his own. His interactions and ruminations are filled with Rowley trademarks: dozens of pop-culture references, plenty of witty banter, and heartbreaking and -mending universal truths --- about the quiet ways we lose ourselves in relationships, and what it means to live for ourselves. In growing into himself, he also begins to take a new approach to his investigation into what happened to Norman, alternating between grief and wonder at the thought that someone you love can simply disappear.

Readers of Rowley’s works will know that plot is never the real focus. He employs his characters as plot drivers, with existential questions rather than reveals. In the case of Jesse, this means a second coming of age, one that requires not just examining his life in light of Norman’s disappearance, but also their history together and how they have changed and been changed by each other. Along with Lally and her earth-shattering request, this also includes reckonings with parenthood/parental relationships. This is common fodder for long marriages, but it’s explored here with real heart and nuance.

Jesse and Norman have grappled with the realities of marriage equality, adoption and acceptance and come out on the other side, but without a manual to guide them. It’s a sobering realization, but an affirming one as well. After all, Jesse thinks, how many of the gay men he knew in his youth could have ever imagined a life like the one he has shared with Norman? But as Jesse grows beyond the confines of his marriage, he must reckon with an even more sobering truth: What if Norman returns, and there’s no longer any room for him in his life?

If you’re looking for answers here about what really happened to Norman, you’re out of luck. While this may deter some readers, it would be a grave misunderstanding of the absurd device Rowley employs to closely examine earthly truths and themes like love, aging and identity. Even while maintaining his quippy, tongue-in-cheek humor, he never shies away from the hard questions. Although his characters are often prickly, they’re also full of heart (and enough pop-culture references to fill an entire E! documentary).

From light-beam abductions to finding oneself, TAKE ME WITH YOU is quintessential Steven Rowley --- a bittersweet but quietly hopeful and affirming meditation on the human condition, the fear of living honestly, and the strength that comes with purpose.