Every family has a tree. Some bear fruit.
Henry Andersson's bears Rotten Apple.
Born into chaos and raised on criticism, Henry grows up believing he'll never be smart enough, good enough, or lovable enough. From the voice inside his head—a darkly funny, manipulative narrator named Rotten Apple—we witness the twisted roots of generational trauma stretch from a war-torn Jewish family in 1930s Queens to a fractured household in 1970s California.
Alongside Henry's story runs that of Julie, a young Black woman in the 1960s confronting racism, prejudice, and misogyny. Both battle addiction and the ache of unhealed wounds, but only one will survive the conditioning that binds them.
The Conditioning Tree is a razor-sharp, unflinching exploration of how emotional neglect, addiction, and self-doubt take root. It's also about what happens when a child learns to speak with the same voice that once destroyed him.
Darkly humorous, painfully honest, and hauntingly real, The Conditioning Tree shows that healing begins only when you dare to cut the roots.