Book record · Former Barking Rain Press title
Slip Sliding Away
by Sean Mulcahy
Published by Barking Rain Press in March 2014, Sean Mulcahy's first book follows Michael Reilly, a jobless, indebted college graduate living with his father and stepmother, as his brother's redeployment to Iraq pulls him toward a reckoning.
This book was once published by Barking Rain Press, which announced its closure in 2019. This site is not that publisher and does not sell books. See “Finding the book today” below.
Premise
Slip Sliding Away centres on Michael Reilly, who has recently finished college and finds himself living again with his father and stepmother. The publisher’s descriptions place him among graduates hit by recession, unemployment and student debt. He works part-time in retail at a local mall and has no clear prospects. A relationship has ended badly, and he is leaning more and more on alcohol.
The story’s turning point comes when Michael’s older brother is called up for a third tour in Iraq. Michael travels to New Jersey to see him off and hopes the visit will be a raucous farewell. Instead his worsening depression forces him to face both his past and an uncertain future. This summary follows the publisher’s 2013 and 2014 press releases and stops where they stop.
Publication history
Barking Rain Press announced on 2 March 2013 that it had acquired worldwide print and electronic rights to the novel. At the time the press described itself as a non-profit publisher of general and genre fiction and an imprint of BRP Publishing Group, based in the Portland/Vancouver area. The announcement named the author as a debut writer from Burlington, Vermont and said a senior staff editor had been assigned to the manuscript. Print and eBook editions were then expected in summer 2013.
The book actually appeared in March 2014. The release announcement, dated 19 March 2014, describes a 148-page trade paperback (ISBN 978-1-935460-66-4) and an eBook in ePub, Kindle and PDF formats (ISBN 978-1-935460-67-1), with Library of Congress control number 2013951283. Open Library records the paperback with a date of 18 March 2014. The publisher classified it under urban fiction, family life and general fiction, and described it as the author’s first published book.
Research for this page found no later edition from another publisher and no author website. The Barking Rain Press edition is a historical edition. This site has no connection to the original press or to anyone who holds rights in the book today.
Reading notes
These notes come from desk research using the publisher’s descriptions. They are not a reading report.
The publisher’s own framing is generational. In its 2013 announcement the press presented the novel as a study of Millennials who came of age in the recession and were living with their parents, and its president called the book “a moving generational microcosm”. The premise sets everyday economic pressures (a part-time mall job, student debt, no clear career path) beside more personal trouble: a failed romance, heavy drinking and depression.
The brother’s repeated deployment to Iraq gives the story a second frame. On the evidence of the descriptions, the war appears from the home front, through the family member who is left behind and must say goodbye. Its BISAC categories, urban fiction and family life, suggest a contemporary novel concerned with family relationships rather than a war story. The arc the publisher describes, a trip meant as escape that turns into a confrontation with the self, is a familiar shape in coming-of-age fiction about early adulthood.
Finding the book today
The Barking Rain Press printing is out of print, and no current publisher of the novel was identified. Secondhand copies may still circulate. Public library catalogues and WorldCat can help locate a copy to borrow; searching by ISBN 9781935460664 will find the original paperback. This page does not say where the book is on sale or at what price.
Finding the book today
The Barking Rain Press edition is out of print and no later edition was found during research. Public library catalogues and WorldCat, searched by ISBN 9781935460664, are the most reliable places to look for a copy.
Discussion questions
- The publisher presented the novel as a portrait of a generation. Can one character's struggles stand for a whole generation's experience, and what are the risks of reading him that way?
- Michael moves back in with his father and stepmother after graduating. How does returning to a childhood home change the way an adult sees himself?
- Michael hopes the trip to see his brother off will be a wild send-off. What does that hope suggest about how he copes with things he cannot control?
- How do the brothers' situations, one shipping out for a third tour and one stuck at home, frame each other?
- Recession, unemployment and student debt sit in the background of the premise. How much should fiction about personal struggle also be read as social commentary?
- The descriptions speak of Michael confronting both his past and his uncertain future. Why might looking back be necessary before a character can move forward?
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Sources
- Barking Rain Press acquires "Slip Sliding Away" (press release, 2 March 2013), PR.com. Accessed 2026-11-12.
- Now in Print & eBook: "Slip Sliding Away" (press release, 19 March 2014), PR.com. Accessed 2026-11-12.
- Open Library search: Slip Sliding Away (Sean Mulcahy), Open Library. Accessed 2026-11-12.