The Island

About the Book

The Island is somewhat fantasy, somewhat biographical. It is a tale I hoped I would not have to tell, but it became an enormous source of inspiration. Abigail Cagney dances her way through life in a most painful and disturbing waltz. She wants to remain hidden, derelict, out of everyone’s reach because she feels unworthy. Everyone she sees knows her past. Everyone whispers about her around the watercooler. They point fingers, laugh, shake their heads in astonishment. She is the core of evil for her world. All she can do is imagine herself hidden and ignore the whispers. But they stay in the back of her mind. She must endure them as part of her punishment. She swings on her front porch and watches the world. She could be so happen among them. But no. She must keep her distance. She is dirty. She is vile. She is what is wrong with the world. In her mind. But within is a woman longing to be free, to join in the world she watches. She finds a man, someone interested in her as no man had been before. She allows him into her world and tries to stand halfway in his. But she cannot serve God and mammon. She cannot stand half in shadow and half in light. She must choose, but she refuses the choice. Until God strengthens His call for her soul. She finds a letter intended for another but left for her to find, part of the wisdom of her deceased mother. It speaks of things she has not given thought to in years—the Faith of her youth, the remains of her family. It tells her what she must do to find a better path, to step into the light she already half occupies. Even when she makes the choice to try, it could be too late. Her pain may be too strong. The obstacles might prove too mighty. But if she can find that mustard seed that moves mountains, anything will be possible. She journeys across the ocean into a world insane to her and foreign to many of her small town home. There she finds her only living relative, a bartender with accented wit, a cabby with giant features and a love of hamburger, a woman seeking a family and losing the pursuit, a mentor whose heart needs the precious love of children and will risk anything to save Abby. They all have lost something. They all need something. They’ve come to the right place. All will find what they need, alone with God, on The Island. The ocean is waiting.

About the Author

Jeremiah Joseph Ogden began writing at the age of eleven. He loves a wide range of English and American literature and is an admitted Agatha Christie junkie. A member of the Roman Catholic Church, he wishes to use his passion for words as part of his ministry, especially targeting the suffering, the lost, the imprisoned, and those marginalized by society. He believes all people are beautiful and wants everyone to feel the love of a personal God. He lives with his wife of fourteen years and their two children.