A Laughing Matter of Pain

By: Cynthia Hilston

Narrated by: Brian Callanan

Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

A starry-eyed jokester drunk on easy love and the bottle—a shattering moment that will change his life forever.

Harry Rechthart always knew how to laugh, but laughter can hide a lot of pain that’s drowned by the bottle and good times. He grew up the jokester in the early 1900s in Cleveland, but as he enters adulthood, conflict splits him. His once close relationship with his brother, Erik, breaks as they come into their own and Erik goes off to college. No longer under Erik’s shadow, Harry feels he might finally shine and make others proud.

He finds an unlikely comrade who understands how he feels—his younger sister, Hannah. Once free of high school, Harry and Hannah date sister and brother, Kat and Will Jones, attending wild, extravagant parties during the years of Prohibition. Harry thinks he’s won at life—he’s found love in Kat, in a good time, and in the bottle. But all the light goes out fast when Harry’s alcoholism leads to disastrous consequences for him and Kat.

Harry thinks the joke’s on him now that he’s sunk lower than ever. He’s in jail. He’s pushed away his family. He’s a broken man, but in the darkest depths of a prison cell, there is hope. Can Harry rebuild his life and learn that true laughter comes from knowing true joy, or will he bury himself once and for all in this laughing matter of pain?

©2018 Cynthia Hilston (P)2022 Cynthia Hilston

Critic reviews

"Harry chooses to laugh off all of his troubles as a teenager, and later - to drink them away, immersed into a chimeric life of illegal alcohol, dubious relationship, and bad choices made in the prestigious Millionaires’ Row. One of such choices ends up in tragedy, which will haunt Harry for the rest of his life. Now, it’s up to him to rebuild it anew or drink it away like he used to." (Ellie Midwood, award-winning author of The Girl from Berlin series)

Really enjoyed this!!

A heartfelt story of human weaknesses and the strength of love and forgiveness.
I found myself thinking about the characters in this book in between reading sessions or in my case listening sessions.
…concerned about how this was going to turn out.
Just a great story of family love
Forgiveness. A good reminder time goes fast.

A Loss Road to Redemption and New Beginnings

A Laughing Matter of Pain is beautiful realistic well written book that will take you on a roller coaster ride of emotions that you will never forget. Harry is the type of person who usually makes jokes and laughs to hide his pain from the outside world. Harry finds himself in trouble with the law after a tragic accident and is sent to prison where laughter won't help. Harry pushes away everyone who loves him because he feels that he has brought shame and disappointment to them. In prison, Harry meets a very important person who helps him see that there is life beyond his prison cell.
Once released, Harry has to make a very important decision that will either change his life forever or sink him into a world of nothingness. I loved the interaction between the characters it was real and had me invested in the story, wanting to know how it would all come out. Admittedly, there were times I didn't know if I wanted to strangle, slap and or hug and protect Harry. I will say this a few times brought me to tears in the story, so make sure to have a box of tissue handy. Brian Callanan did an amazing job of bringing the story and characters to life. I almost forgot it was a fictional book. I highly recommend this book if you love historical stories that deal with heavy realistic subjects filled with family saga, forgiveness, redemption, and new beginnings.
I received this book for free upon my request. I am voluntarily leaving my honest and unbiased review here that is strictly my opinion.