A moving coming-of-age novel that explores family secrets, identity (is his father Bob Dylan?), and the complicated bonds between mothers and sons.

SYNOPSIS 

When Evan returns home to care for his dying mother, he is forced to confront questions that have followed him his entire life—including whether the legendary musician Bob Dylan might be his biological father.

As his mother shares stories of her youthful relationship with Dylan and the life she lived before motherhood, Evan embarks on a journey to understand not only where he comes from, but who his mother truly was. Inspired by author Sam Sussman's own experience of wondering whether Dylan could be his father, the novel explores family, memory, grief, and the stories we tell about ourselves. At its heart, however, it is a tender and unforgettable tribute to the bond between a mother and son.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sam Sussman is the author of the debut novel Boy From the North Country, published by Penguin Press in September 2025. The novel was reviewed by Kirkus as “the most beautiful and moving mother-son story in recent memory,” became an instant USA Today Bestseller, and was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award in Fiction. Sam previously won the BAFTA New Writing Award and wrote the Harper’s memoir, “The Silent Type: On (Possibly) Being Bob Dylan’s Son.” He has received a Yaddo residency to work on his second novel.

Originally from the Hudson Valley, Sam has lived in Jerusalem, Berlin, and England. He graduated with a B.A from Swarthmore and M.Phil from Oxford. Sam has taught writing and literature seminars in the U.K, India, and Chile, written for the Washington Post and Vogue, and spoken at Columbia, Stanford, Oxford, Cambridge, Cornell College, and U.C. Berkeley, and participated in the Miami Book Fair, Brattleboro Literary Festival, and the PEN American World Voices Festival. He lives in the Yorkville neighborhood of Manhattan and his native Hudson Valley.

SamEvanSussman.org