Tyler Hagen builds furniture in a small Texas town. He is haunted by his past, both by the decisions he made and by those he never did. What started with a few drinks to ease the pain soon turned to prescription drugs and then to whatever he could find that made him forgets. Years after a drunk driving accident left Tyler without two of his brothers, one dead and one in jail, he has reached rock bottom and thinks of ending it all. Until one day, someone steps into his life in a way he never imagined. After being given a once-in-a-lifetime chance, Tyler decides to try and pick himself up. Helping him is a woman he has known his whole life, one he thought he would have to live without. But with this newfound chance, will he get a second shot at happiness? THE STRAY is a taut psychological drama about one man's fight through addiction and depression on his path to a better life.

A novel by Matthew Eaton.