A Novel by Torthell Robinson

You can run from your past

But sooner or later, it wants a word with the man you became.

4.8 average rating from readers

A darkly funny family drama about fathers, sons, and the past that refuses to stay quiet.

Where It Begins

Trevor Russell thought success would fix him.

He survived a complicated childhood, became a writer, and finally started building the kind of life that was supposed to make the past feel smaller.

But life does not work that cleanly. His second novel is stalled. His estranged father is back, asking for forgiveness. And with a child on the way, Trevor has to face a question he has been avoiding: what kind of father can you become when you are still carrying the pain of being a son?

Going home doesn't make healing simple. It makes it personal.

Trevor believed distance could outrun the past. But with fatherhood approaching and old wounds resurfacing, every step home brings him closer to the truth he’s spent a lifetime avoiding.

The Pressure

A stalled novel. A looming deadline. An estranged father asking for forgiveness — and a child on the way that forces Trevor to reckon with the kind of man, and father, he’s becoming.

The Return

When the weight gets too heavy, Trevor returns to Arkansas — the place that raised him, wounded him, and may be the only place where he can finally tell the truth.

iii

The Reckoning

His father wants forgiveness. His future child deserves a better version of him. Trevor has to decide: keep running from the past, or finally face it before it becomes someone else’s inheritance.

Two men, one reckoning

Trevor Russell

the son, the writer, the father-to-be

Battling writer’s block under the pressure of a looming deadline and the news of impending fatherhood. Seeking refuge in his past, he reignites his creativity — using his pen for poetic justice while confronting his own struggles.

Kwesi Black

the father, seeking forgiveness

Charismatic yet selfish, and recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, Kwesi faces a wake-up call after his parents’ passing. Estranged from his seven children, he seeks reconciliation with Trevor — but the past complicates his path to redemption.

inside The Book

What you'll find inside?

A messy, funny, painful, honest look at fathers, sons, and the cycles families pass down without meaning to.

What Readers Say

Relatable, thought-provoking, and hard to put down.

4.8

Reader Rating

Great read! The author hit all points, including breaking generational curses.

What a wonderful story. Honestly, I couldn’t stop reading it.

I really enjoyed the story and loved how relatable the characters were.

The script for Father Time was a semifinalist in both the Nashville Film Festival and Austin Film Festival screenwriting competitions.

The Author

Torthell Robinson

A United States Air Force veteran, author, screenwriter, and founder of Book Collection by Torthell. His stories blend cinematic pacing, humor, and emotional tension with real-life themes of family, friendship, loyalty, ambition, and the choices people make when pressure hits.

He is the author of Father Time, the Men Will Be Boys series, and several children’s books honoring military and rescue heroes.

You can't out-write your past. You can only finally answer it.

The Past Does Not Disappear

Sometimes it waits. And when it finally speaks, you have to decide whether you're going to keep running — or finally answer.

Read Father Time today.