Book Review: The Accidental Future of Dean Harris by Derek McFadden
Part of Paste Creative Book Tours
Release Date: June 15, 2026. Available for pre-order.
The Story
Dean Harris is a struggling writer with cerebral palsy. His life’s dream has been to write a bestselling novel, a dream he shares with his father, Damon Harris. When his father calls him with the good news that he has finally landed a literary agent, Dean is happy for him. He really is, but his father doesn’t believe him.
When Damon’s agent, Dianne, finds out that Dean is also a writer, she offers him an unpaid internship as a second reader, a manuscript gatekeeper. He accepts the internship and spends his days reading manuscripts, some good, some not so good. Then, one day, he meets bestselling author Charles Corning.
Over the years, they develop a close working relationship and Charles becomes a mentor of sorts to Dean. He agrees to read Dean’s unpublished novel, What Lucas Learned From Life, which is about a young man dealing with life with cerebral palsy. He likes it and encourages Dean to never give up on his dreams of seeing it published.
Dean self-publishes the book, but then his biggest dream comes true: his next novel becomes a bestseller and a critical success.
Then he wakes up. His reality once again centers around unread pages and a dream that is constantly just beyond reach. When parts of his dreams start creeping into his waking world, Dean realizes that maybe the vision wasn’t simply an “accidental future”—maybe it was more like a map.
Now Dean must decide whether he should stop chasing the ghost of the man he wants to be and face the life he’s actually living: the family he’s overlooked and a relationship with his girlfriend, Claire, that’s unraveling under the weight of his ambition.
Review
Derek McFadden’s The Accidental Future of Dean Harris is a gripping, mind-bending exploration of ambition and reality. Dean Harris is stuck between being a “visionary” and a “fraud,” and it’s affecting his relationships with the people he loves.
Taking place between 2015 and 2021, the story blends reality and subconscious insight, creating a narrative that feels introspective and highly relatable. The nonlinear format adds incredible depth to the story, revealing how past choices, hidden desires, and personal blind spots shape our futures. It also contains a story within a story, with portions of What Lucas Learned From Life included to support Dean’s narrative, which is in the first person point of view.
McFadden gives readers a story that is less about literary fame and more about the ghosts we chase at the expense of our present. The prose is sharp, witty, and deeply empathetic, capturing the existential dread of the creative mind.
“Yet, on this early evening, with the sun sinking low and inviting darkness to settle over the city like a colorless comforter outside my window, life had changed.”
The characters are well-developed, especially Dean, and his struggles as a writer will resonate with would-be authors everywhere.
The Verdict
The Accidental Future of Dean Harris is a thought-provoking and poignant read for anyone who has ever looked at their life and wondered if they are waking up to the wrong reality. Beyond its exploration of artistic ambition, the novel offers a powerful look at relationships, whether they be familial or friendships. These emotional threads ground the story and give it genuine heart.
Insightful and ultimately hopeful, it’s a gentle reminder of the importance of finding meaning not in the future we imagine, but in the life unfolding right before us.
“Rejection will, for all time, stand as the most personal, most painful verdict that can be delivered in all of human experience.”
About the Author
Derek McFadden is an author, a poet, a podcast presenter, a radio enthusiast, an unapologetic fan of the Seattle Mariners, and a former March of Dimes ambassador. He lives with a mild version of cerebral palsy, and his eyes are not great at being eyes.
Other Books by Derek McFadden:
- What Death Taught Terrence – His debut novel was a Next Generation Indie Book Award Finalist (2021) and the Best Adult Fiction Winner at The Wishing Shelf Awards (2021). The audiobook version, read by the acclaimed BJ Harrison, was a Best Adult Audio Book Finalist at The Wishing Shelf Awards (2021).
- The Santa Claus Agreement – His second novel, and a Wishing Shelf Awards “red ribbon” winner.
- All Systems Snow – A collection of short stories published in 2023.
**Thank you to Stephanie Caruso, Paste Creative Book Tours, and Derek McFadden for the gifted ARC for review consideration. I haven’t been compensated for this review and all views and opinions expressed are my own.
SA Examiner 