Ask Jake Soister About 'The Life He Knew' discussion

I found the relationship between Ben and his Uncle interesting, but lightly touched on. Uncle Ollie seemed to be having a much harder time dealing with his condition, and I assume hes done some things he wasn't proud of, but could you elaborate on him a bit more (what makes him tick, real life inspiration for the character, etc.)

I guess I'm most curious about his story in the early years of his 'condition'. Prequel shortstory?

I think there's definitely an opportunity here for a prequel story... but to elaborate on the current incarnation of Ollie, his entire character can basically be boiled down to two words/a single question: what if? Growing up, my Dad always told me they were the two worst words in any language and I wanted Ollie to embody that. Whereas Ben was a victim of pure circumstance the night of their car accident (and unconscious to boot), Ollie was at least awake (and lucid) enough to attempt something like a decision. Granted, it was a horrible situation with no right answer and lasting regret either way but Ollie chose all the same and he's been haunted by the inherent "what if" of that night ever since. What if he'd gone back for his brother and sister-in-law? What if he'd been driving instead of his brother, Frank? Would he have reacted differently behind the wheel? Would they still have gone off the road and ended up where they had? I think Ollie has replayed that night over and over and over again in his mind thousands, if not millions of times and it's been eating away at him ever since. I always got the sense that he felt it was his fault somehow and that everything "wrong" with he and Ben was also something he could have prevented if he'd just been a little faster or done things just a little differently. At the end of the day, I think - perhaps more than anything else - Ollie is defined by his guilt and regret. After years and years it's all he knows and there's a fierce self-loathing there that Ben is absolutely terrified of developing. To Ben's point: "He's not the same Ollie he once was" and it's true. Ollie clings to his pessimism and negativity because they give him something to hate/blame in a world where he's struggling to find answers: himself.

Sounds like a new book is in the wings. All of the characters could have good spinoffs. I agree with Sean, how does one just wake up and be something totally different…a child had only his uncle to rely on. How did he go to school, learn to drive, etc. Don't give too much away now, I want to get the next book.

Next book: let's find out more about The Blond Boy. Will Zack meet him? What about Emily?

Ben was seventeen when he and Ollie became what they were so he was already a semi-functional adult. Ollie, being the kind of person he is, has sought to control Ben or - at the very least - influence his decisions ever since. Ben, being very much afraid of not only what he was/is but the possibility that he may very well have lost his mind, clings to Ollie's teachings for as long as he can. Eventually, though, he rebels... hence his move to New York. Their bond is a very complex one... a love/hate relationship to the enth degree but what they went through, they went through together... with David's help.