Beyond Ties That Bind: A Novel

What happens when someone sees you more clearly than you’ve ever seen yourself?

Alex Robertson spent eighteen years in a small Ohio town, perfecting the art of blending in. He’s the quiet one, the artist, the boy who never quite fit but never made waves about it. College is supposed to be his escape—a place to figure out who he is without everyone watching.

Jaime Stamford grew up in Manhattan, where his parents served love as loudly as Sunday brunch. He’s never had to hide who he is—but he’s never met anyone like Alex, either. Someone who notices things others miss. Someone worth slowing down for.

When their paths cross at Oakwood University, neither expects what follows. For Alex, falling for Jaime is easy. Believing he deserves it is harder. For Jaime, loving Alex is simple—but learning that not everyone’s journey looks like his own is a lesson he’s never had to face.

As their worlds collide—Ohio cornfields and Manhattan skylines, silence and Sunday dinners, fear and fearlessness—Alex must decide what he’s willing to risk for the chance to finally be seen.

But the hardest conversations aren’t with Jaime. They’re with the family waiting back home—a mother clinging to everything she was taught to believe, and a father carrying a secret that’s haunted him for thirty years. Coming out doesn’t just reveal who Alex is. It unearths who the Robertsons have always been.