Those Darn Stripes

In the fall of 2008, Tyrel Nelson returns to the United States after teaching English in Ecuador for a year. Although living overseas was quite an adjustment for the Minnesotan, the months to follow (mostly spent around his stomping grounds) bring on life changes far bigger than anything he had encountered in South America. Fortunately, his pop and confidant, Jay, is there to guide Tyrel through his depression in the Great Recession, which is not only caused by a stretch of joblessness but also exacerbated by the breakup with his longtime girlfriend.

The days slowly start to look brighter for the writer nevertheless. He unexpectedly finds love again. He eventually finds work that is meaningful. Just when he turns the corner, though, Nelson runs into another awful trot: he learns his best friend is going to die.

Those Darn Stripes captures an intimate and intense period which precedes and succeeds the death of Ty’s father. Using his bond with nature—a connection he learned from and shared with his dad—the author pictorially sets the scene of each vignette, taking his readers to meet memorable gals and gents, on foreign jaunts, to old haunts, and through moments that continue to haunt him.

"In his third book, Tyrel Nelson offers a patchwork of lovingly constructed vignettes that interweave themes of change, loss, and joy, all while managing to preserve a light-hearted and inspiring tone. Written in straightforward and sparse language, his narratives touch upon the impact of fleeting interpersonal encounters as well as the enduring effect of past and present relationships. Throughout his short collection of stories, Nelson's prose deepens and matures to mirror the effect that significant life changes have had upon his emotional psyche. Through his prose, seemingly ordinary journeys become powerful stories that engagingly transform the banality of quotidian encounters into opportunities for remarkable life transformations. These moving stories are both touching and inspiring. They are not easily forgotten, as they speak to the essence of our human community."—Andra Bosneag