One book with four different covers is just one aspect of the special story and brilliance behind A Bitter Pill to Swallow, just released from Blurb Books as the debut novel from writer and visual artist Tiffany Gholar.

I am behind the novel not only because Gholar is a friend from college at University of Chicago; Gholar is also an alumna of Governors State University in painting, and resident artist of The Fine Arts Building on Michigan Avenue in Chicago.

For one thing, the book is a tribute to the 90s: a lesser celebrated decade not yet fully marked as a true “era.” For another, A Bitter Pill to Swallow is a literal and figurative testimony of perseverance, triumph and concern for humanity in a novel more than twenty years in its making. Lastly, Gholar’s soft and subtle advocacy for individualized talk and arts therapy versus chaotic nervous system restructuring via uniform medications can change and save many lives.

Set in…