Published on 18, Feb 2023

When Nothing Is As It Seems: Who Okayed This?! The Riveting Life of Grant Davis

We all admire people who are able to do what seems physically impossible: climb Mt. Everest, run 100 miles, or swim the English Channel. In Who Okayed This?! The Riveting Life of Grant Davis, author Philip E. Barrington gives us an ordinary man who must do something even harder: maintain his faith in humanity when his closest friends try to kill him by injecting him with a toxin. The mystery/thriller, which won the Stellar Book Award 2022, takes readers around the world as Grant hunts for clues and an antidote even as he struggles to reconcile how he used to see the people in his life with who they really are.

“Grant, whose story is based on real-life events, is the last person you would expect to be the victim of an assassination attempt,” says Philip E. Barrington. “This is the guy who stands up for what is right and pays his parking tickets on time. He is not a bull in a china shop, going through life bothering everyone else or deliberately making enemies. Just the opposite, in fact. However, his ethics and sense of fairness attract the attention of the wrong people and lead him to be attacked one night in his New York home.”

In Who Okayed This?!, with the toxin causing his health to rapidly deteriorate, Grant knows his time is running out, and he sets off on a rollercoaster quest to understand what happened and to find a cure. Philip E. Barrington reveals that as Grant tries to make sense of everything, he wrestles with his shock at the betrayal by his closest friends.

“Grant understands that what people say is not always the same as what they do,” Philip E. Barrington states. “Their actions are far more important and reveal their true characters and motives. He experiences this on an even larger level as corrupt officials, including those who should be helping him, try to prevent him from getting to the truth behind the attack on him.”

It is a completely different world for Grant, and he ponders some deeper questions, including who he can truly trust, how he can know, and how much loyalty he can expect from friends and family.  

“And yet, even when he is face to face with the darker side of human nature, he finds reason to hope,” says Philip E. Barrington. “He continues to meet interesting people everywhere whose innate goodness shows him that not all is lost. Grant must decide whether he will believe in that beauty or hold onto his anger over his destroyed life.”

Philip E. Barrington grew up in New York City, where he worked in the world of luxury goods at the Plaza in Manhattan. His own life was upended by a horrific accident when he was crushed between two cars. He remembers the bewilderment and disorientation that he felt when he woke up in a hospital bed.

“One moment, I had been just fine, and the next, I was wearing a Philadelphia collar around my neck, and I had two metal wrist-splints on both wrists and a cast from my right knee down to my toes,” Philip E. Barrington recalls. “I had concussion syndrome as well as multiple herniations in my neck and back, and the only way I could get around was by scooter.”

He says he learned very quickly who his true friends were, as many deserted him in his time of need. He was able to use that experience to make the emotions and reactions of Grant more realistic when he learns his friends are behind the attack.

“I was also very fortunate to cross paths with a woman who used a wheelchair due to a serious illness,” Philip E. Barrington reveals. “I was inspired by her full recovery, which she attributed to changing her diet and mindset. She was also a best-selling author, and this motivated me to begin writing my book.”

The ideas for Who Okayed This?! The Riveting Life of Grant Davis flew onto the page, and within a few years, he had created his first “faction” novel (a book that is based on some true events). 

“In some ways, I had my own Grant Davis experience because of my accident,” Philip E. Barrington reflects. “Thankfully, I have made a full recovery, and I’m having a great time working on my second book as well as learning more about photography, cell physiology, and geo/bio physics.”

Philip E. Barrington suggests that people think about the power of love and the human spirit as they read Who Okayed This?! and reflect on their own lives.

“Please enjoy the book and have fun figuring out what happened,” he says. “I also invite you, however, to contemplate what you would do in Grant’s situation. I hope his journey will inspire you as much as it did me.” 

Philip E. Barrington is the author of Who Okayed This?! The Riveting Life of Grant Davis, which is the Stellar book award recipient winner of 2022. Who Okayed This?! can be purchased on Amazon or on Barnes & Noble.