From Michael Zadoorian, a novel that tells the forgotten love story of Jack Kerouac and his first wife, Edie Parker, the woman who brought together the “Beat Generation.” 

In 1942, Edie Parker, a Detroit debutante her mother considered “too wild,” is exiled to New York City, where “too wild” is just right. There she meets a young Jack Kerouac, who has just quit college to devote himself to writing. Their love affair is fireworks from the start.

Soon, Edie pulls intellectual ruffians Lucien Carr, Allen Ginsberg, and William S. Burroughs into her orbit, forming the group that America would call “The Beats.” Edie and her boys tumble headlong into sex, drugs, crime, obsession, and even murder. After Edie and Jack rush into a hasty marriage to get him out of jail, everything falls to pieces. Yet their love for each other endures, even after Jack writes On the Road and is consumed by the fame that ultimately destroys him.

Beat Girl is Edie Parker’s chance to have her say about the boys’ club she created. Readers will finally meet this unforgettable woman: a strong, charismatic free spirit with an endless lust for life and love.