Blog Archives
Hidden Opportunities for Growth
The Year of My Humiliation follows a brilliant but morally adrift plastic surgeon during what he dubs his “year of humility” as he documents his attempts at personal reform—not out of love or duty, but from a cold, self-imposed challenge to bring his life under control after a scandal that nearly ends his career. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
A friend once left his house in anger and accidentally backed up over his child’s stroller, completely wrecking it. The implication was devastating – what if his child had been in it?
What were some of the emotional and moral guidelines you followed when developing your characters?
When developing Michael, I focused on creating a character who could experience a deeply personal, emotional reckoning without losing authenticity. Morally, I wanted his choices to feel grounded in the realities of human behavior—how we resist change until forced, how pride blinds us to our flaws, and how growth often begins with small, humbling acts.
Michael starts as someone defined by pride and control, but I aimed for his transformation to unfold slowly, in moments that reveal his vulnerability. For instance, making his wife tea wasn’t just an act of humility—it was a subtle yet profound shift in how he saw himself and his relationships.
Emotionally, I focused on Michael’s relationships—especially with the hospital psychiatrist and his estranged son. These interactions highlight the vulnerability of opening oneself to others and the uncertainty of giving love or seeking forgiveness. His choices reflect the gradual, messy process of self-discovery and the risks required to change.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
I was deeply interested in the intervention of grace—not as something soft or comforting, but as a force that’s often shocking, even brutal. Grace breaks through our carefully constructed facades and leaves us no choice but to confront the truths we’ve been avoiding. For Michael, this means grappling with the fallout of his mistakes and the painful realities of the relationships he’s damaged.
I wanted to explore how suffering, while deeply mysterious, can act as a crucible for transformation. It’s through Michael’s humiliation—those raw and uncomfortable moments where his pride is stripped away—that the possibility for redemption begins to take shape. Grace doesn’t promise an easy path, but it offers him a chance to rebuild, starting with the messy work of repairing his connection with his estranged son.
These themes—grace, suffering, and redemption—felt essential to me because they mirror the way real change often happens: unexpectedly, painfully, yet profoundly. They remind us of the hidden opportunities for growth buried within even the most difficult experiences.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?
My next novel is more a metaphysical one, about a woman’s journey through a life review after a possibly fatal accident (yes, that’s ambiguous for a reason!) Its release isn’t imminent – I want to deliver a compelling and thought-provoking story. To keep in touch, follow me on Facebook and/or sign up for my email list on lilyfieldpress.com.
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Website
Michael, an arrogant pediatric plastic surgeon, believes he controls his own life and his wife Rosie’s, until the discovery of Rosie’s duplicity punctures his self-importance and leads to tragedy. Consumed by remorse, he begins journaling his attempts at reparation, beginning with small, humbling acts – like making his wife’s morning tea.
But proving he’s emotionally fit to wield a scalpel again demands more than trivial self-abasement. Under the scrutiny of a hospital psychiatrist with unorthodox methods, Michael’s carefully constructed justifications crumble, exposing the raw truth he’s desperate to avoid.
Struggling to repair the damage only deepens his humiliation. And the one person who might pave the way to his redemption – his son, “the Jackass” – hasn’t spoken to him in years.
And he has no intention of starting now…
“The Year of My Humiliation” resonates as a tale of psychological and spiritual battles against family, God, and self – delivering a riveting, thought-provoking examination of the human heart and the life-changing power of forgiveness.
The Year of My Humiliation
The Year of My Humiliation is a raw, unfiltered dive into the mind of a brilliant but morally adrift plastic surgeon during what he dubs his “year of humility.” Framed as a daily journal, the story documents his attempts at personal reform—not out of love or duty, but from a cold, self-imposed challenge to bring his life under control after a scandal that nearly ends his career. His goal? Make his estranged wife a cup of tea every morning. That’s it. But the deeper you go, the clearer it becomes that this isn’t just about tea. It’s about control, shame, ego, resentment, and—most surprisingly—grief.
The writing floored me. There’s this calm, clinical precision to the narrator’s voice—understandable since he’s a surgeon—but it’s constantly bumping up against his inner chaos. You can feel it. The scene on Day 1, where he’s fumbling through the kitchen trying to make his wife tea for the first time in twenty-four years, was so mundane it was funny—and also sad. That tension carries through the entire book. One minute, I’m smirking at a sarcastic jab; the next, I’m sucker-punched by something brutally honest. Because underneath the smugness and detachment, there’s someone flailing to connect but absolutely terrified of intimacy.
What really hit me were the glimpses of his daughter, Michaelina. Especially the part where he looks at a school photo and focuses not on her face—but on a stray lock of her hair. That small detail holds so much love. He can’t say he misses her or that he’s grieving, not directly. But the book is full of these sideways confessions.
There are moments, though, where the narrator gets under your skin. He’s sexist, elitist, often cruel, and just plain selfish. He compares having intercourse with nurses to fast food and bashes his son with unrelenting bitterness. But I couldn’t stop reading. Because as much as I wanted to condemn him, I also wanted to understand him. When he meets Dr. Thurman, the psychiatrist who’s tasked with evaluating him, the power struggle between them is electric. She sees through him, and he hates it. She tells him, “You may be Mr. Expert on human faces, but I’m the expert on human shame.” She nailed it. That’s what this book is really about I think—shame, and how we hide from it.
This isn’t a redemption story, at least not in the traditional sense. It’s more like watching someone flail toward the possibility of change, failing often but trying in fits and starts. And maybe that’s more honest. I wouldn’t say the narrator grows into a better man—he just grows more aware of how much damage he’s done. The final chapters aren’t triumphant. They’re sobering.
I’d recommend The Year of My Humiliation to readers who like their fiction sharp, introspective, and full of complicated characters. It’s not a feel-good story. But it feels real in that uncomfortable, vulnerable way that stays with you.
Pages: 352 | ISBN : 0967149266
LITERARY TITAN 