From his earliest childhood, Wolf O’Brien enthusiastically wanders into unexpected twists and turns that life places before him. His propensity to impulsively plunge into situations he considers “something worth doing” result in many unlikely adventures. His life is captured as a collection of tales that become his memoir. As an old man writing this memoir, he struggles with recalling all of the stories he has told over the years and the details of those stories. Writing it all down becomes a cathartic experience, and he wonders, now that he is old, if the opportunities which made his life so interesting are no longer available to him. As he labors through the process of capturing all his memories into his book, however, an amazing new adventure unfolds before him.
The old man was sitting at his desk, preparing to write the story of his life. He was struggling with his memory, having difficulty distinguishing between fact and fantasy – unsure about the embellishments of all the stories he had told over his life, where they began and where they ended. As his mind drifted, he reflected on this feeling that had been nagging him lately, that in the autumn of his life, things seemed so anti-climactic. Yet, he felt at peace, and he was certainly not unhappy. There was, however, a persistent notion that there was still more to be done, more to come. He guessed that writing this story just might be that next thing.
Thinking back through the years, some parts of his life now seemed more like a movie, maybe one he might have watched, or a book he might have read. He recalled his time at the Catholic seminary in Santa Fe, the combat tours in Viet Nam and Thailand, the year he spent in Alaska trying to get work on the pipeline, the “pirate period” of his life in South Florida. Those events, and the people involved, were increasingly difficult to bring into focus. Then there was his time in the restaurant industry, the bodybuilding competitions, the college degree, the “real job” career in computer science, the music, the fire department, the ranch and the winery. He had been married four times and had a daughter. There was a lot to remember.
"A completely absorbing and entertaining story. The thought-provoking Introduction section set the stage with a philosophy for life, and the unexpected directions the story took kept me engrossed from beginning to end. The many vignettes weaved together as Wolf fully embraces the present at every stage of his life range from the poignant to the hilarious, and the writing style only enhances the effect. Highly recommended!" Amazon Reader
'Thoroughly enjoyed this book. There were times when I would
be laughing so hard I could hardly catch my breath. Then there were
times when I had tears in my eyes because of the pathos I was
feeling while reading this wonderful story. The author had the
remarkable ability to paint very vivid pictures with his
words." Amazon Reader