Goodnight, Tyler

Book excerpt: “Tyler Evans was a beloved best friend, grandson, mentor, and (almost) husband.” “Tyler Evans was a young Black man killed by a police officer.” Goodnight, Tyler is the ghost-love story of Tyler Evans, a dead Black man who wants to be remembered for who he was rather than how he died. Only able to speak with his childhood best friend, Davis, Tyler demands his “legacy” be protected. He wants to make peace before he leaves behind Chelsea, his fiancée; Drew, his college buddy; and his grandmother, Fannie (all of whom consider themselves Tyler’s “favorite”). When Shana, a local college student, shows up at the house with an old jacket of his, Tyler quickly loses control over the narrative of his life. His loved ones fight over his affection, his best friend spirals into deep denial, his student doesn’t understand why he hangs around so many white people. Now left behind, these five people struggle to learn how to love each other. In a story about loss, intimacy, fear, and white supremacy, Tyler comes face-to-face with the reality of whose grief matters and whose lives matter most.