The Pleasure Was Mine is the story of three men: Prate, his grown son Newell, and his nine-year-old grandson Jackson — as they come to terms with the fading of Irene, heart and center of the family. Set in Greenville and Western North Carolina, the book is narrated by Prate, a prickly house painter who retires to care for Irene. As Prate adjusts to these life changes, Newell, a recently widowed art teacher in Asheville, needs to spend the summer at Penland, an art colony in the mountains. He leaves Jackson, his reticent, bookish son, with Prate for the summer, and Prate finds himself in the uncomfortable position of having to get to know his moody grandson.

Tommy Hays, the author of In the Family Way and Sam's Crossing, renders an unforgettable character in Prate, who, as he copes with his wife's illness, establishes new bonds with his widowed son and grandson. This is a heartfelt, redemptive story about the power and resilience of family.

Hays' third novel, The Pleasure Was Mine, was a 2006 SIBA (Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance) Fiction Finalist and was read on National Public Radio's "Radio Reader" hosted by Dick Estell and SCETV-Radio's "Southern Read" hosted by Walter Edgar. UNC TV BookWatch with Tommy Hays

Because The Pleasure Was Mine is in part about Alzheimer's, Tommy has been asked to speak at caregiver and aging conferences around the country, including The 20th Annual Bryan Alzheimer's Disease and Research Center Conference at Duke Medical School, The 2007 Alzheimer's Disease Education Conference sponsored by the New Jersey Alzheimer's Association, the Conscious Aging Conference sponsored by the Adult Center for Enrichment in Greensboro, NC, and Creating Caring Connections at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC.

For more information on Tommy Hays: www.tommyhays.com