News editor inspired to tell a ‘happy’ story Adam Sommers’ novel shows one of life’s great dichotomies BY SANDI CARPELLO Correspondent JEFF GRANIT staff Adam Sommers of East Brunswick recently completed his second novel, “Happy,” which features a picture of son Jack on the cover. EAST BRUNSWICK — It’s safe to say that everyone wants to be happy. But for those who tend to brood through life, finding lasting contentment can be a tricky task. Often, it is not until true tragedy strikes that malcontented individuals realize they were happier when they were miserable. That’s the premise of Adam Sommers’ new novel, "Happy," which was published by Philadelphia-based Xlibris and hit bookshelves in March at $22.99. The semi-autobiographical account, which took the 42-year-old New York Daily News editor and East Brunswick resident more than two decades to complete, tells the story of Eddie Mullan, a once supremely happy 5-year-old whose mother is murdered and who becomes poisoned by the bitterness and ineptitude of his father. That poison eventually infects Eddie’s young friendships until a twist of fate allows the protagonist to capture the true meaning of happiness. Set in the author’s native Middlesex County, "Happy" deals with several ambiguous components: how good, caring people can often behave badly; how parents can love and hate their children at the exact same instant; and how the lifelong goal of happiness is often right before one’s eyes. "I was looking for a way to tell adolescent kids that life is not about being cool or being popular, but about being true to yourself," Sommers said. "The idea was to illuminate the struggles kids go through trying to grow up and fit in." A graduate of Rutgers University, New Brunswick, Sommers swapped his childhood dream of becoming an airline pilot for a career in journalism. He spent years working as a staff writer and investigative journalist for newspapers such as the Asbury Park Press, The Roselle Spectator and the Washington Times before relinquishing the reporter’s role for a position as an editor and headline writer at the Daily News. After successfully publishing his first novel, "Cells Divide," a 1999 thriller about a prison guard who controls his jail’s escalating population by killing his oldest prisoners, Sommers decided to focus on his wife, Ann, a medical assistant, his three young children — Abby, Grace and Jack — and his budding career as a novelist. According to Sommers, spending the last decade at the sixth-largest newspaper in the country gives him the constant inspiration "to tell a great story." "The Daily News is very exciting and sometimes very boring, just like any place else," Sommers said. "When it’s exciting, it’s great. The reporters are very, very good. The editors are very, very good. There are a lot of really eccentric people there. There is a collection of kooks and there is all this talent and all this drive." Sommers is currently working on his next novel. "Happy" can be purchased at major bookstores as well as at www.barnesandnoble.com and www.amazon.com.