The Year of Eric's Hat

by Peter Sykes

Meet Eric. Eric is a teenager. He has a disability and struggles with walking and speaking. But Eric has a very special gift. And a hat. Unbeknownst to his schoolmates and even to his family, Eric is both savant and sage. But Eric is better known for his crutches, awkward speech and his battered green top hat. His premature wisdom and burgeoning writing talent finally get showcased in his increasingly popular but anonymously-written column in the school gazette. Eric’s simple musings on secular ethics and how to be happy are aimed at his fellow adolescents who, like Eric, are struggling with the universal challenges of impending adulthood and caught in the grips of a drug-fuelled gang war and a rapidly-escalating arms race.Try as he may, hat or no hat, Eric’s journalistic efforts will not be enough to arrest the build-up of animosity nor halt another tragic school shooting. Only the untimely and violent deaths of two students will have the power to reunite a fractured academy and its supporting communities. Only then will Eric’s enlightened suggestions be truly and his hat properly appreciated.A gripping and highly accessible work of contemporary inspirational fiction, ‘The Year of Eric’s Hat’ combines a page-turning narrative with some age-old and practical guidance – on how we can all meet head-on the myriad of adult human problems without losing touch with our more childlike, better and happier selves. ‘The Year of Eric’s Hat’ combines seamlessly the suspense of Lionel Shriver’s ‘We Need to Talk About Kevin’ with the accessibility and wisdom of ‘The Art of Happiness,’ by HH The Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler.Peter Sykes has so far written and published three novels (Flying Babies, Sunday with the Devil, and The Happiness of Pyot). ‘The Year of Eric’s Hat’ is Pete’s fourth work of literary fiction. Pete was brought up in Africa and the Caribbean, lives in Spain and currently works, part-time and across the globe, as a Humanitarian Consultant. Pete has spent over thirty years in some of the most troubled parts of the world and has been a small part of history in the making in many countries. His professional articles are numerous and well read. As a practicing Buddhist, Pete’s unusual background adds critical authority to both the settings of and the characters in all his novels.

326 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 29, 2021

About the author

Peter Sykes is a retired consultant surgeon and former NHS Trust medical director, awarded for leadership in medical management. In retirement, he enjoys gardening, golfing, and time with his grandchildren—often humorously grumbling that “things ain’t what they used to be.”