Author, R.A. Thompson, launches his life story series, buy Stair Pits, the first of the Unbreakable Origins Series, online today
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Unbreakable Origins: Stair Pits

By R. A. Thompson

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An unflinching, darkly comic plunge into a childhood gone spectacularly wrong. Short, easy chapters full of unreliable truths, told in an innovative and compelling style crafted to hook even people who don’t normally read.

Unbreakable origins book one stair pits.

Unbreakable Origins: Stair Pits — A Darkly Funny, Rule-Breaking Memoir of Chaos, Survival, and Absurdity

Unbreakable Origins is a multi-volume experimental memoir, told by an unreliable narrator who refuses to name or even describe his characters, because the way he sees it, they lack the necessary humanity to have earned either. Each short, addictive chapter invites the reader to witness the obscenity and absurdity of what one child who lost the parent lottery had to endure. It blurs truth and invention into something unforgettable.

Book one covers the early years: thrown frying pans stuck in walls but not removed (instead, the father writes the time and date on the wall beside it), a deeply cruel, insecure and ultra-controlling stepfather, and a childhood where survival required smarts, self-sufficiency, and a warped sense of humor.

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What the Critics Think:

“A raw, unsentimental portrait of childhood in another time that is deeply personal, tragic, and told with a dark humor that makes it impossible to look away. I couldn’t put it down.”

– David N.

“Nostalgia runs through every page, even as the humor turns sharp and the heartbreak hits hard. I laughed and nearly cried in the same breath—a darkly comic take on a childhood unraveling, told with remarkable pull.”

– Michelle H.

“Unflinchingly honest and unexpectedly funny, this book captures the chaos and tenderness of growing up with a clarity that lingers long after the final page.”

– Laura S.

“Equal parts heartbreaking and darkly hilarious, the story shines with a voice that feels both familiar and startlingly new. A gripping, unforgettable read.”

– Marcus T.

“This memoir wounds and heals in the same breath. The humor is razor-sharp, the sadness disarming, and the writing simply brilliant.”

– Jenna R.

“A beautifully tangled mix of memory, pain, and wit. The author turns childhood turmoil into something haunting, humane, and strangely uplifting.”

– Rob K.

“The kind of book that sneaks up on you—quietly devastating one moment, wickedly funny the next. I was hooked from the first chapter.”

– Elise M.

“Unbreakable Origins is a sarcastically humorous deep dive into a dysfunctional family during the drug and alcohol induced 60’s and 70’s. Uprooted time and time again by a beautiful alcoholic mother in search of lotteries or men with money, the author uses humor and melancholy to give shape to the characters that negatively or positively affected his early life. Despite its unusual format, I found the story compelling and hard to put down.”

– Cole T.

“Unbreakable Origins wields sarcasm, humor, and melancholy to give shape to a dive into a young boy’s family affected by alcohol and drugs in the 50’s and 60’s. Despite its unusual format, I found the story compelling and hard to put down.”

– Tanner F.