March 28, 2023

Houston Entrepreneur Clayton Trier Releases Novel on Mental Health Crisis and Life in Beaumont, TX in the 60s and 70s

Ranked #1 in Teen & Young Adult books on Death & Dying, #1 in Death, Grief, and Bereavement, and #1 in Prejudice & Racism categories on Amazon.

Beaumont, TX - Entrepreneur and author Clayton Trier has released his first published book, The Outskirts of Redemption. The novel tells the story of Buddy Torrence, a 21-year-old recent college graduate who recalls the events surrounding his classmate and best friend's suicide under unusual and mysterious circumstances when he was only 12 years old.

Set in southeast Texas during the Sixties and Seventies, the book captures the struggle of young adults facing mental health issues in silence and the tragic impact that early passings can have on those left behind. Buddy is haunted by guilt and is finally ready to reveal the truth and seek forgiveness.

The Outskirts of Redemption is a coming-of-age story that exposes mental health stereotypes, especially geared towards young men and the expectations of being a "real man" in the Sixties and Seventies. Here’s what some published authors are saying:

“A story that touches us profoundly, driven by a tragedy that need not have happened, and the effects of which changes lives forever.”

– Molly & Gary Whitney, authors of Thistle Downe

“A bittersweet tale of innocence lost in a southeast Texas town by a young man with a terrible secret, recalling how he had to navigate among his parents, his teachers, a toxic racist environment, and his own conscience in coming to grips with the suicide of his best friend.”

– Patricia Hunt Holmes, author of Searching For Pilar and Crude Ambition

The book is now available wherever books are sold, following its release on March 14th.

About Clayton Trier: 

Clayton is a successful businessman and entrepreneur, a previous winner of Houston's "Entrepreneur of the Year" award, and a former CEO of a twice-named Houston-based company in Forbes' annual list of "Best Small Companies in America." He hopes that readers will be both entertained and enlightened by his book. Clayton hopes that this story will bring awareness to the mental health crisis and the signs of depression and hopelessness that young people can experience.

The inspiration for The Outskirts of Redemption sparked when his daughter’s good friend took his own life. Clayton immersed himself into trying to understand what his daughter was going through and what adolescents go through during a time of tragedy and mental anguish in their lives. His daughter's healing journey turned him into an advocate for mental health, specifically for youths’ mental health awareness. 

Clayton drew inspiration not only from his daughter's story, but from his own background growing up in rural Texas in the Sixties and Seventies. Buddy’s relationship with his father is similar to Clayton’s relationship growing up, and how a man is expected to cope with a mental health crisis. 

Clayton and his wife, Virginia, live in Houston and have two young-adult children, both math teachers in Houston.

About The Outskirts Of Redemption: 

For Larry ("Buddy") Torrence, childhood ended in 1965 when he was twelve, when his best friend, Daniel, killed himself. They were seventh-grade classmates at a newly integrated school in redneck southeast Texas. Buddy's been a brooding loner since then, unable to stop blaming himself because he alone knows something chilling about Daniel's death. It's a stunning secret that he dared not tell anyone back then -- not his parents, not the beautiful young psychologist he's infatuated with, and certainly not the police and school authorities investigating this perplexing case. Nine years have gone by, and twenty-one-year-old Buddy is finally ready to reveal the truth and seek forgiveness. Come along on this emotional ride into the Sixties and Seventies, a fascinating time filled with remarkable social changes, and see what secrets lie at The Outskirts of Redemption.