| |
A Peaceful, Easy Feeling
by Philip R. Sullivan
"Severe wounds to the mind are
like those to the body; even
when they have healed, scars
are left behind."
ForemostPress.com
About this book, read ...
|
 |
|
Didn't accomplish much the rest of the day and went to bed early. I curled up on my side and pretended I was floating effortlessly through an ethereal fluid. That probably accounted for my drifting off to sleep so easily, though the altered awareness of my fast-coming dreams was anything but peaceful. Yet I could remember nothing about them, though I woke for moments on two or three occasions. At least, I experienced that kind of semi-waking where our inner and outer dreams blend indistinguishably. Like: was the sound, the sound of a gentle draft, coming from the funnel of my dreams or from the world outside? I coughed and, for all I know, my hopes all up in smoke became entwined with flaming fantasies within my nightly trance. I coughed again, and then again, violent eruptions that shook me so convulsively I woke—woke to a fast-growing crackle, to a hot draft of rising wind, to lightning flickers of brightness, illuminating the onslaught of smoke that began to surge within my room.
I tumbled off the bed, wisely though unthinking, felt the hotness and saw flames shoot through the ladder-way from below. I took a clear breath inches from the floor and held it while stumbling up to throw the window open. Then I leaned outside its casing to breathe the free night air, but smoke followed me, billowing through the chimney flue I'd just created.
Clutching the ledge, I hung a moment, then dropped the ten feet down....
more excerpts
|
|
|
 |
top
add to cart view cart
|
|
|
Readers > Sullivan_P > A Peaceful, Easy Feeling
add to cart view cart
Excerpts | Comments And Reviews | Author Info
|
|
|
His childhood scarred by a traumatic event, Patrick Sayer moved to rural Maine as a young man in search of a simple life close to nature. As he puts it in his story: "The guy I call me lives in central Maine, in the sticks. Or since the nearest town, Milligansett, qualifies pretty well as the sticks, you could say I live outside the sticks."
But now, more than twenty years down the line, he finds himself embroiled in a hateful battle in a one-industry town. Workers at the paper mill have gone on strike, and as money runs low, tempers run high. Patrick finds himself caught unwittingly in a deadly struggle between labor and management, and he becomes terrified when his own life is recurrently threatened by he knows not whom nor why.
In his extreme anxiety, he seeks solace from his girlfriend, Julie, and help from the worldly labor leader, Murph. In desperation, he even seeks succorance from the unworldly Father Tim, an elderly mystic who lives with his sheep and his dog Shep at the old Carthusian monastery outside of town. Can Patrick find the strength to conquer his fears and overcome his adversaries—both within and without?
|
|
|
|
top
From A Review
Sullivan's characters provide vehicles to explore the deep questions: who am
I, why am I here? In this way, Sullivan is like the philosopher with action
figures, imagining and exploring metaphysics through the characters in the
story. While I delightfully escape into Sullivan's stories and characters, I
realize the character I explore the most is actually myself.
more...
|
|
Having been exposed to some rather ineffable experiences in my life, I took an early interest in mysticism. And since mystics have a reputation for wisdom, it's not surprising that a frightened Patrick Sayer sought help from Father Tim.
Nevertheless, the elderly mystic's way of responding to Patrick may surprise readers.
Philip R. Sullivan
|
|
|
top
Other Tales By Philip
The Wolf Tree - Why has Michael Manning left his big-city medical practice and retired early to a farm in rural Maine? And has he really—as viewed by Lesley Jordan, an attractive nurse in nearby Winchendon—reneged on his implied agreement to help his fellow man? An unexpected series of adventures arise as Michael tries to settle into his new community, leading to interactions with Lesley that are touching yet comical. Their story addresses a question that arises inevitably during the course of a human life: does this relationship have any future? more...
Coming Home Again - Coming Home Again is the story of Jud Gerard, an earnest young man who is dying before his time. The chronicle unfolds around the central people in Jud’s life, all very much alive, and all forced to deal vicariously with the issue of their own mortality as they try to help their friend through his final days. The portrayal is candid, yet socked with humor of the sort that’s inherent in our human efforts to find ultimate meaning in life and love and loss. more...
top
add to cart view cart
|
|
|
