The Shithead

A Novel in Fifty Songs

A family drama about the struggle to find meaning in a meaningless world.

Eric Bauer—son, husband, father, and small business owner—is slowly losing his grip on reality.

Drowning in debt and a never-ending to-do list, he finally catches a break.

To trade the torment of barely scraping by for the riches of Nashville's elite Pinnacle Club, he only needs to keep doing what he's been doing since college.

Lie.

Playing fast and loose with the truth is the easy part.

What's hard for him is figuring out how to build a meaningful life in a meaningless world.

©2024 Timothy Grahl (P)2025 Timothy Grahl

Really enjoyed this book

This book is the kind of novel that pulls you in not because its main character is easy to admire, but because he feels painfully human. Tim Grahl does a strong job of writing the protagonist with enough honesty and complexity that even when his flaws are front and center, the story still holds your attention. In fact, one of the things I appreciated most was that I could recognize pieces of myself in some of Eric’s weaker moments, which made the listening experience feel more immersive and, at times, uncomfortably real. If you're drawn to character-driven fiction that is willing to sit in the discomfort of real human imperfection, this is worth your time. It is raw, psychologically sharp, and memorable in the way the best flawed-character stories tend to be. Highly recommend.

an intense dive

This may be the book you need.
I know, it's fiction. But is it?
Some elements will relate so deeply that you'll have an emotional reaction.
A hard look in the mirror... a laugh... a chest burning desire to reach into the story and strangle the man!
it is indeed a ride!

get in, buckle up, a ride well worth taking

bravo Tim, for your raw honesty and storytelling skill. Narrator did a great job as well.

Boring

I have never utilized the 2X speed on Audible before this book. Even when listening to Ayn Rand’s 80 page rant in Atlas Shrugged. My head hurts from rolling my eyes so much. Forcing prisoners of war to listen to this would be a war crime.

Positive notes: the narrator was great, but even he sounded bored. At least I could tell the characters apart that I couldn’t care less about.