Behind the Story: Who Was Real in Unbound?

It’s hard to believe that Unbound has been out in the world for over two months. First, thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read it. Your support means everything.

As promised in earlier posts, I wanted to begin peeling back the curtain on what was real and what was fictionalized in Unbound. And what better place to start than with the characters? In future posts, I’ll dive into specific scenes and explore other elements of the story, but today, let’s focus on the people at its heart.

Let’s begin with Andy Kramer, our protagonist. As I’ve shared before, Andy is a mirror image of me—right down to his physical features, personality, and moral compass. He’s not inspired by me—he is me.

The Kramer family in the novel is also completely based on my real family. The descriptions of each family member and their relationships with Andy reflect my life with total honesty.

Andy’s best friend, Bobby, is also real. He was a genuinely positive influence in my life during that time, and it only felt right to include him in the story. That said, while Bobby himself is true to life, some of the dynamics and scenes involving him were fictionalized to serve the stories emotional arc. I’ll explore those key moments in future posts.

The “store crowd” from Food Haven was loosely based on a group of friends I had while working at a local grocery store. In the Air Force section of the book, nearly all the supporting characters were based on real people. While some scenes were fictionalized for dramatic or thematic reasons, the people themselves were very much real.

Noah was a complex character to write, for reasons I’ll save for a dedicated post. His significance—and the emotional weight he carries—deserves a closer look on its own.

And last, but certainly not least, Jason McDermott. He’s based entirely on my real-life husband. Everything written about him in the book—from how we first met to that long drive from Phoenix to Omaha—is true. Even the details in the Epilogue are real.

So, there you have it—an inside look at who was real in Unbound. There’s so much more to explore when it comes to specific characters, events, and scenes. I can’t wait to share more with you soon. Stay tuned.

— Chris