Thursday frontman Geoff Rickly has announced his debut novel, Someone Who Isn’t Me.
The fictional book is due for release on July 25 via Rose Books – you can pre-order it here.
Per an official description, the novel follows a man as he seeks treatment for heroin addiction with a drug called ibogaine at a clinic in Mexico. The story is based on Rickly’s own experience of doing the same.
“Someone Who Isn’t Me is a feverish journey through the psyche of someone who no longer recognises himself,” the listing reads.
The book sees the central character “confront the darkest and most destructive versions of himself” in what is described as a “modern reimagining of the Divine Comedy”.
It adds: “Survival lurks in the darkest corners of Geoff’s brain, asking, will he make it? Can anyone?” See the official cover artwork below.
Geoff Rickly – ‘Someone Who Isn’t Me’ cover. CREDIT: Jesse Draxler/ Jesse Reed/ Rose Books
Having read an advance copy of the novel, My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way called it “a spiral staircase in a burning building”.
Speaking to NME in 2018, Rickly recalled how he’d started taking heroin after reaching a “pressure point” due to “a few traumatic bumps” in his life, including Thursday’s break-up and a divorce.
“A lot of people might be into casual drinking, or casual drug use, or depressed, and you’re very close to the edge,” he explained.
“Only one bad day can really push you past the edge – especially if you’re not taking care of yourself. One thing that I’m finding is that artists have very little access to resources with mental illness. Like, ‘Holy shit, we’re really all looking for some help here’.”
Last year saw Thursday open for their longtime friends My Chemical Romance on tour in North America. They also released a special 20th anniversary edition of their second studio album ‘Full Collapse’ (2001).
Thursday’s sixth and most full-length record, ‘No Devolución’, came out in 2011. Geoff Rickly has since released music with No Devotion and United Nations.
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