LIFE LESSONS 101
The anecdotes in Life Lessons 101 are all true and contain little if any embellishment- well, other than my occasionally errant memory. And for that, you will forgive me, I know.
The truth is, these stories were written- most of them -during a four-day ice storm in the winter of 2011, the likes of which North Texas had not seen in many years. Trapped in our drafty log home, I started thinking about all the “teachable moments” I had had over the years as an instructor in the public schools of Texas and how often I used these tales to illustrate truths and information about living that really would have come in handy when I was growing up. It’s information teachers and parents neglect to mention- usually because they’re too busy trying to discover these truths for themselves.
On its surface Life Lessons 101 is a sequence of insightful and amusing vignettes about growing up in New Jersey as a boy in the late 60s and how these experiences helped shape the kid into a thoughtful and prepared adult. They are as applicable today as they were then and translate perfectly to any teen (or parent) who’s too shy for love, dealing with the death of a beloved family pet, trying to understand fashion and peer pressure, or any of eighteen other conundrums that face us all. At the same time, Life Lessons 101 has the cumulative effect and harmony of a novel, with recurring characters and interwoven themes. Each story echoes off the others, and all have the healing power of a heart-to-heart talk with a trusted mentor. On a third level, this Life Lessons 101 is bound together with the unique voice of a “why-ning” teenager and his grown teacher, writer, and parent alter ego who is still asking “Why?”
The truth is, these stories were written- most of them -during a four-day ice storm in the winter of 2011, the likes of which North Texas had not seen in many years. Trapped in our drafty log home, I started thinking about all the “teachable moments” I had had over the years as an instructor in the public schools of Texas and how often I used these tales to illustrate truths and information about living that really would have come in handy when I was growing up. It’s information teachers and parents neglect to mention- usually because they’re too busy trying to discover these truths for themselves.
On its surface Life Lessons 101 is a sequence of insightful and amusing vignettes about growing up in New Jersey as a boy in the late 60s and how these experiences helped shape the kid into a thoughtful and prepared adult. They are as applicable today as they were then and translate perfectly to any teen (or parent) who’s too shy for love, dealing with the death of a beloved family pet, trying to understand fashion and peer pressure, or any of eighteen other conundrums that face us all. At the same time, Life Lessons 101 has the cumulative effect and harmony of a novel, with recurring characters and interwoven themes. Each story echoes off the others, and all have the healing power of a heart-to-heart talk with a trusted mentor. On a third level, this Life Lessons 101 is bound together with the unique voice of a “why-ning” teenager and his grown teacher, writer, and parent alter ego who is still asking “Why?”
Download a sample: life_lessons_101_opening_pages.pdf
