The Will

About the Book

An almost universal occurrence takes place when people’s lives reach a midpoint.  They look back at what they’ve done and what they haven’t.  They begin asking themselves questions.  Have they led the lives they dreamed of living?  Given the chance, would they change the past?  Given the chance, would they plot a new course for the future?  Given the chance, would they be willing to toss their security blankets aside and venture into the unknown?

The Will is about such a person, Guy Treadwell, a man wallowing in mediocrity.  He could be any man, or woman.  He is about to turn forty and sees his life as tortuously uneventful, but is lost in apathy.  He recognizes the need for change but is discouraged by previous failures to take the risks needed to send his life in a new direction.

The average person, like Guy, is the victim of a ritualistic lifestyle.  Man is a creature of habit and not easily persuaded to depart from comfort zones.  Luckily for some, unforeseeable things happen that force change: death, divorce, economic disaster, a lottery ticket worth millions, and so on.  Guy’s unpredictable occurrence is a phone call.  On the other end of the line is a lawyer who informs Guy Treadwell that he is the designee of a previously unknown relative’s will.  This relative suffers from a terminal illness.  However, there are stipulations.  If Guy does not conform to these stipulations, he will forfeit the inheritance.  In other words, change is not going to be an easy thing to manage.  He must do his part and do it right.  Will he be able to hold up his end of the bargain?  Two old women, a pretty nurse, and a host of other people who mean well put him to the test.

About the Author

After writing two novels, the author needed therapy. One restless night, his dream self posed a question: Why not immerse yourself in laughter for two years? When his real self woke up, he did just that. The heightened state of delirium achieved during the writing of Alive or Dead is evident from the get go, nor does it wane in the latter pages of the manual. The author is a retired high-school English teacher. His passions are bowling, golf, and road races. He resides in Resaca, Georgia, where Sherman’s forces met significant resistance as they marched toward the sea.