So begins Raymond Shackleford's confused odyssey, with the news he receives on the very first page of this novel. is about loss and it's about gifts, and the efforts we make to find meaning in life when tragedy is an inescapable aspect of love. Ray's journey takes him to a variety of venues-from a dance-club to the depths of his own past-but it will be a chance encounter with a stranger that changes everything. PRAISE FOR "Nate's New Age is funny, sexy, honest, but most of all it is wise." -Erica Eisdorfer, author of "An ambitious and gratifying piece of fiction." -Lou Lipsitz, author of