Cardo Preston has done everything the hard way. He enlisted after 9/11, survived Iraq—twice—and returned to San Antonio determined to be the father his daughter, Maxine, deserves. Now fourteen, brilliant, and restless, Max is already looking beyond the world Cardo has scraped together. When she sets her sights on an elite New England boarding school, Cardo tells himself it’s impossible—until Max finds a way in, scholarship and all. As applications accelerate, money tightens, and Cardo’s job at airport security becomes a pressure cooker, old rage, guilt, and grief seep into the present. Max wants freedom; Cardo wants security. Between them lies a country that praises sacrifice, sells opportunity, and rarely counts the emotional cost.

Freedom of Movement is a darkly funny, deeply tender story about class, the aftereffects of war, and the fierce, sometimes unbearable love between a father and the daughter he might be raising to leave.

Praise for Freedom of Movement

“Torrey is a propulsive, lively writer who’s mastered the art of big feelings and heartbreaking restraint. The characters are painfully, achingly real, in all their nuance and complexity.”

—Lydi Conklin, author of Songs of No Provenance

“Dazzling and irresistible. A tenderhearted triumph.”

— Simon Rich, author of Glory Days

“A finely calibrated, fabulous debut.”

—Alan Michael Parker, author of Bingo Bango Boingo and The Age of Discovery

“Freedom of Movement is a heartfelt story of family–the disappointments and triumphs of caring for those closest to us. Torrey’s storytelling is impressive, including his elisions—don’t be fooled by the economy of his prose. There’s so much wonder churning below the surface.”

—Emily Nemens, author of Clutch