About the Book
A story about life, and what goes with it. --'I doubt there's a person alive who cannot relate to this....it's like nothing I've ever read or am likely to read again.'--J.L. Redding
John and Claire Edghes have a wonderful marriage. John is a sweet and likeable man, whose love for his wife is unquestionable, as is her love for him. But when life deals John a devastating blow, as happens to far too many people, and his wife is taken from him, John's life corkscrews into an overwhelming and agonizing journey to the bottom of life. There, in the darkness of his despair, a homeless drunk in trouble with the law, he wakes up one day in a rehab center, where he is pushed to look at what he has become.
Forced to face both his past and possible future, John must find the path to rise from the despairing quicksand and somehow manage to find a way to survive. The question is, without Claire, can he?
*A Better Place to Be was awarded the IndieBRAG. Medallion.
About the Author :
David Wind has published thirty-nine novels including Science Fiction, Mystery, Suspense Thrillers and Contemporary Fiction. He lives and writes in Florida, and shares his house with his wife, Bonnie and dog Alfie, a Moyan poodle. (Moyan is half in French, which means Alfie is halfway between a miniature and a Standard Poodle. His newest novel is A Better Place To Be: based on the Harry Chapin song of the same name. Not his usual genre, this is a story of family life, love, loss and facing to the worst life can throw at you and still be standing. In 2008, David formally became an independently published writer and published 'Angels In Mourning', his 'homage' to the old time private detective books of the 50's and the 60's, which he used to sneak them from his parents' night tables and read them as a young boy. Angels is a contemporary take on the old-style noir detective. 'Angels In Mourning' won the 'Book of the Month Reader's Choice Award. 'Born to Magic', the first book of David's sci-fi fantasy series, Tales Of Nevaeh, was an Amazon International best seller and is now available as a free eBook download. All three books have reached into the Amazon Top 100 best seller rankings in several categories including Young Adult. David's fantasy, Queen Of Knights, was a #2 best seller on the Amazon bestseller lists for historical fantasy and medieval fantasy, and his sci-fi paranormal, Infinity's Doorway, has received wide acclaim. He wrote the Medical Thriller, The Whistleblower's Daughter, with Terese Ramin. The idea for this Medical Legal Thriller came shortly after the death of a close friend. David said, I couldn't help but wonder about the medication.... His suspense thrillers are The Hyte Maneuver, (a Literary guild alternate selection); The Sokova Convention; and, The Morrisy Manifest. Down will Come Baby, Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep, and Out Of The Shadows, are mystery suspense novels. --Follow David on Facebook at https: //www.facebook.com/davidwindauthor --Follow David on Twitter at https: //twitter.com/David_Wind --Visit David's Website at http: //www.davidwind.com --Visit David's Goodreads page at https: //www.goodreads.com/author/show/541561.David_Wind --Follow David on BookBub: https: //www.bookbub.com/search/authors?search=david+wind
Review :
BOOKS COVER 2 COVER--- BY PIPER TEMPLETON
A Better Place to Be by David Wind is inspired by the folk-rock song of the same name by legendary singer-songwriter-storyteller Harry Chapin. This exquisitely-written novel pays homage to the song while creating a detailed back story and character study. It makes sense that a novel would emanate from a Chapin song given the short story nature of much of the late artist's portfolio. In the book, lead character John Edghes' life spirals downward on a long, excruciating, painful journey after life deals him a devastating blow.
The author gets deep inside the mind and soul of John as he paints a realistic portrait of a man's descent into despair and his struggle to reclaim functionality in the real world. It's a long, agonizing, but compelling ordeal that paints a stark portrait of the rocky road to recovery and wholeness. After a stint of homelessness, John finds himself waking up in a rehab center, injured and in trouble with the law. He is kept there under close observation and receives intensive therapy, both mental and physical. It is here that John is forced to confront his reality. The realistic novel does not sugarcoat this. It is an uphill battle filled with pitfalls, false starts, and relapses.
John goes to really dark places, as people do in reality when they are alone and depressed. However, flickers of light manage to find their way into John's life literally and figuratively. The author uses symbolism sparingly but potently to reflect this: "But that didn't matter because it created just enough shadows in the dust motes drifting around the room to keep his mind off the dark thoughts that shut out the weak light entering the room." "The darkness was almost complete. The only light came from a few yellow shafts leeching around the edges of the tightly-pulled shade as the sun did its best to chase away the night."
The reader hopes that John will let some of this light that is determined to find its way into the room with the drawn shades into his life.
Note: The novel can stand alone without being familiar with the song, but I think it's a good idea to listen to it.
Wow.
That word just comes to mind over and over, in regards to this book, along with the phrase, heart-wrenching. It's good though - incredibly, in a makes-you-feel-things-and-think-things brilliantly good.
Upon first meeting John, he's likable enough. He soon turns out to be sweet and the reader would have to be dead to not feel his love for Claire - and it is mutual. So the two of them have this great, comfortable thing...until tragedy strikes. Then the reader is treated to a gut-wrenching, realistic, accurate view of what happens all too often to too many people. I doubt there's a person alive who cannot relate to this... Still, Wind puts it all so simply and so realistically, it's like nothing I've ever read or am likely to read again.
Not only does he repeatedly rip out my heart and stomp all over it - and I like it somehow, so apparently I'm some kind of sadist - but he perfectly portrays a good - better than average actually- man turning into completely something different, as a result of the bulls--- that life has thrown at him....
....Point is, if you want a book that's real and will make you think, this is the one. If you don't want to think but like a book that'll give you all the feels, this is also the one. It's well detailed with perfect continuity.
And did I mention it's based on a song? 'A Better Place to Be' by Harry Chapin, a song that'll never be the same for me. It seems completely natural as if the book IS the song and the song IS the book. Brilliantly perfect. -------- J.L. Redding, Reviewer
