The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley

The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley, a coming-of-age novel by American writer Hannah Tinti, tells the story of Samuel Hawley, a man who has spent the better part of his life on the run from the law. The story begins when he and his teenage daughter, Loo, move to Olympus, Massachusetts. As Samuel attempts to eke out a living for himself and his daughter, eventually landing a job as a fisherman, Loo struggles to fit in at her new school. Living in her late mother’s hometown, Loo feels haunted by ghosts of the past and begins to wonder about the circumstances surrounding her mother’s death. It seems that, even in this small town, Samuel’s past dealings continue to follow them wherever they go, wreaking havoc on their lives.

Samuel and Loo move to Olympus in search of a quieter, more settled existence. For the majority of Loo’s childhood, the family has moved around endlessly, spending their nights in motels, Samuel always feeling that he had to watch his back and wary of spending too much time in one place. However, now that Loo is becoming a teenager, Samuel feels that she deserves some semblance of a normal life.

Loo still doesn’t understand the reason for her chaotic upbringing, but as she gets older, her curiosity begins to grow. When Samuel and Loo move to Olympus, Loo is reunited with her maternal grandmother, Mabel Ridge. Mabel seems convinced that Samuel played a role in the death of her daughter, Loo’s mother. This forces Loo to call into question certain things about her father that she had just accepted when she was younger. She wonders about all the moving around they did, as well as the fact that he owns many guns and has scars all over his body from gunshot wounds. Although these questions plague her, she can’t bring herself to ask her father outright.



Samuel has moved Loo to Olympus with the goal of starting a normal life together. However, things get off to a rocky start. Samuel has landed a job as a fisherman but runs into some trouble after a couple of competing fishermen destroy his gear. Falling back into old habits, Samuel retaliates against them, an act which has consequences not just for him but for Loo as well, as she is teased and ostracized at school for the actions of her father. Loo does not tend to play the victim, and when two boys at school start taunting her, she attacks them, leaving them both with broken noses. Following in her father’s footsteps, Loo solidifies her position as the social outcast at her new school, and most of the other children avoid her.

As the novel unfolds, the author reveals tidbits of information and some backstory as to how Samuel received all of his gunshot wounds. It is revealed that Samuel’s father died when he was a teenager, prompting him to run away, turning to a life of crime to support himself. Samuel seems unable to set himself on the right path, but when he meets Lily, Loo’s mother, he is determined to do things differently. He believes that he can turn things around and that their relationship can provide the fresh start that he needs.

Lily died in an altercation with one of Samuel’s old enemies, and for this, he can never forgive himself. They had been spending a day on the lake, enjoying the company of their infant daughter, when a man named Talbot approached them. Samuel sensed that their interaction could get violent, so he placed Loo in a boat and pushed her across the lake to keep her safe. Lily attempted to swim to her daughter, but was shot by Talbot and drowned before she could reach her.



Samuel has always told Loo that her mother drowned, but Loo’s grandmother says that doesn’t make sense because Lily was such a strong swimmer. Finally, Samuel tells Loo the truth, which leaves her shaken. However, her love for her father is unwavering. When Samuel learns that his old friend and crime partner, Jove, has been killed, Loo is determined to accompany him on his quest to find Jove’s body.

Samuel soon finds out that Jove is not actually dead, part of a plot set up by businessman Ed King to lure Samuel out to sea. Samuel discovers Jove, alive but badly beaten, aboard King’s boat. As he attempts to rescue his friend, King shoots Loo. In the ensuing chaos, Samuel is shot in the chest. It turns out that Loo was wearing a bulletproof vest which kept her safe from the gunshot, but Samuel is badly injured and Loo must use the navigation skills her father taught her in an attempt to get them both safely back to land.