Shooting Out The Lights by Kim Fairley

Release: July 27th 2021
Format: Paperback
Publisher: She Writes Press
Source: Suzyapproved Book Tours
Find it at: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible, B&N

Kim Fairley was twenty-four when she fell in love with and married a man who was fifty-six. Something about Vern–his quirkiness, his humor, his devilish smile–made her feel an immediate connection with him. She quickly became pregnant, but instead of the idyllic interlude she’d imagined as she settled into married life and planned for their family, their love was soon tested by the ghosts of Vern’s past–a town, a house, a family, a memory.

Shooting Out the Lights is a May-December love story that explores the ongoing, wrenching aftermath of gun violence and the healing that comes with confronting the past.

About the Author:

Kim Fairley was born in Plainfield, New Jersey, and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. She attended the University of Southern California and holds an MFA in Mixed Media from the University of Michigan. Her first book, Boreal Ties: Photographs and Two Diaries of the 1901 Peary Relief Expedition chronicled the Arctic expedition of her great grandfather, Clarence Wyckoff and his friend, Louis Bement. Kim lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan. https://kimfairley.com/ .

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Shooting Out The Lights Review:

“Shooting Out the Lights” is a gripping memoir that stood out for me because of how psychologically creepy and atmospheric the author wrote it.

The highlight of the story is Kim. The author wrote the memoir beautifully, where you see the various emotions she goes through. On the one hand, Kim has to deal with Stan and how stressed he makes her, compared to Ben while keeping Vern happy. On the other hand, she also has to deal with her pregnancy and sorting things back to normal. Kim also has a complex relationship with her parents, where she feels she cannot count on them. The author told the memoir beautifully where you could empathize with her.

The author also described the nuances of married life and how this unusual incident took a toll on their marriage. It was interesting to see how her relationship with Vern would proceed with Stan in the picture. The author also wrote Vern in a complex manner where you see him thinking of Ben and Caroline. Similarly, Stan also rubbed me the wrong way, and the author made the story atmosphere when she mentions setting fires or the incident with Chippie. Even the supporting characters like Ann added nicely to the story, and I liked the scenes where Ann encourages Kim.

Some of the memorable moments were when Kim gets anxious about Stan and asks Vern if he has a return ticket or when she realizes that Stan is with Ann. On a side note, I also enjoyed how the author added historical tidbits about Hillsboro, like Mother Thompson and “Cradle of the Crusade.”

Overall, I found “Shooting Out the Lights” a unique memoir and thought the author executed it wonderfully!