Hiya. Kyle here. I’m just your average thirty-something-year-old, single guy who still lives in his parents’ basement. Yeah, I need to get a life. Since I’ve finally accepted that my band gig days are behind me, I have to level up my adulting, or I’ll never be worthy of a legit relationship with my biological daughter, Ally. My parents don’t even know about her yet!

These days, I’m a man on a mission. My Mount Everest of a To Do list requires energy and stamina. So, when I wake up, the first thing I do is make a strong pot of coffee and whip up a breakfast worthy of the broke foody I am. No bland bagels or boxed cereal for me. Today it’s steal-cut oats with berries, almonds, and locally sourced honey.

I’m saving up every spare penny I earn to buy Ally a used car, so she won’t have to ride the Chicago buses wherever she goes. It’s a dangerous world out there—I learned that reality firsthand when I was a kid. I spend the first few hours after breakfast working on my graphic design projects on my rents’ dining room table. Hanging my freelance shingle was as bold as it was intimidating, but my client list is growing, and so is my bank account. It’s going to be the best surprise for my daughter ever!

After gulping down a cracked pepper turkey and avocado sandwich for lunch, I schlepp my ancient laptop to the local community college for my two classes this semester. Then I park my butt in my favorite lounge chair at the café next door to Ally’s part-time job at the grocery store. If I’m lucky, she’ll show up and chat for a little while. Sometimes she sketches my profile in her notebook, and other times we study together—she’s a college freshman. Damn, I’m proud of her—she runs mental laps around me, but I treat her to as many mocha coffees with drizzled chocolate sauce as she wants. She’s worth it.

In the evening, I race back home to whip together dinner for my parents—did I mention that I still live with them? Yeah, I know. Not many middle-aged guys have this kind of trouble launching from the nest. Moving out is another big goal of mine, but in the meantime, I am trying to make their lives a bit easier. With the classic rock station blasting from the radio, I commandeer their galley kitchen. Tonight, pan-seared salmon, roasted Julienne vegetables, and rosemary couscous is on Chef Kyle’s menu.

And then, I wrap up the day by attending a local A.A. meeting. The members are my people. We are all fighting the same unending battle against our addictions, day in and day out. The struggle is real. In a couple more weeks, I’ll have earned my three-month sobriety token.

It’s been a long day. They all are. But each one gets me a baby step closer to my dream—that someday Ally will be willing to call me Dad instead of Kyle.

The Hint of Light
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Release: August 2023
Format: Print, Digital, Audio
Purchase Link

In this heart-wrenching exploration of unconditional love, what a mother finds in the aftermath of her son’s death could put her family back together―or tear them apart for good.

In the wake of her son’s sudden death, Margaret Dobrescu struggles to keep it together in the face of her grief…and her guilt. She can’t help but blame herself for Kyle’s own lifelong struggles―namely, the alcoholism that plagued him.

But within mere days of his funeral, secrets and suspicions begin to surface, and Margaret’s husband admits that Kyle once confessed to having a daughter. Clinging to the hope that some part of her son is still out there, Margaret embarks on a search to find her rumored granddaughter.

What Margaret hasn’t prepared for, however, is the deluge of secrets that keep coming. And as she digs deeper and deeper into her son’s life to find the truth, what she finds instead is that her own secrets can’t stay buried forever.

Meet the author
Kristin Kisska is a native of Virginia, where she currently resides with her family and their moody tabby, Boom. She holds a BS in commerce from the University of Virginia and an MBA from Northwestern University. She is the author of a dozen short stories published in anthologies. The Hint of Light is her debut novel. Kristin loves hearing from friends and readers at KristinKisska.com.

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