Dear Reader,
Thank you for considering Riley, my most recent book. It is
a fictional work involving the lives of young adults who are navigating their
relationships and their personal and professional lives.
The theme of Riley is ‘coming home to oneself’. The story is
about several rather normal people who are undergoing transitions and about the
ways they deal with those, both behaviorally (outside) and internally (psychologically).
This is something that is so common as to be obvious in that we all navigate
our lives from both the inside and the outside.
We humans are flexible, but there are limits that that
flexibility. We can engage other people, but we have truths that are
unavoidable. In the opening chapters of the book, one of those things is the
recognition that a relationship is dying. We can try to pretend that it is not;
we can pretend to be happy; we can try to avoid obvious realities. But we
cannot do it forever except at the cost of our mental health. So decisions are
needed. Hard ones. And what follows those hard decisions is not always
pleasant. Even if liberating, as it surely is, the world is not obligated to respond
to our liberation with unmitigated good news. There are dangers that lurk that
are beyond our control. But dealing with those dangers in a grounded, authentic
way that honors ourselves as individuals is critical.
Coming home to ourselves is not a one-time decision; it is
an ongoing process that needs to be respected and deepened. Some would call
this approach to life selfish, but self-respect is the basis of respect for all
creatures. And abandoning ourselves to external demands alone risks destroying
the possibility of joy and contentment in life.
Thank you again for reading this book.
Paul Midden
Author: Paul Martin Midden
Website: http://www.paulmidden.com
Publisher: Wittmann Blair Publishing
Find out more: http://www.paulmidden.com/riley.html
About the Book:
Riley, a young writer, finally divorces her husband and begins a novel about a fictional couple in conflict. Supported by her best friend, Jennifer, she begins her life of freedom. In a complicated turn of events, she meets and beds Edward, a shy young man who falls for her instantly. She does not want to continue the relationship, however, and her refusal lays the groundwork for a series of dangerous events. Her conflicts and those of her characters play out in this psychologically intriguing story.
About the Author:
Paul Martin Midden is the author of five previous novels, each of which explores different writing styles. He practiced clinical psychology for over thirty years. Paul’s interests include historic restoration, travel, fitness, and wine tasting. He and his wife Patricia renovated an 1895 Romanesque home in 1995 and continue to enjoy urban living.
