Book Blurb:
It is 1975 and fifteen-year-old Julie Ann Wilson is living the good life. Her future is bright. It has to be. She is a good girl, a smart girl, a fortunate girl. Nothing can stop her--except death.
So begins Julie's journey with death in the cemetery where she resides with The Discontents--those like her who cannot move on to their next place. She is persuaded to return to her life, learn her story, and hopes to be released. She awakens to her Forever Summer at the family's lake house. But the idealistic Forever Summer turns dark when a wealthy widower moves into the community. Is he the friendly. charismatic man he appears to be or someone more sinister? Julie is determined to find out, which leads to dark. unforeseen consequences.
Can Julie save herself and undo the past or is she doomed to remain in In-Between Land? The Nearly Departed explores the dark side of humanity and the resilience of the human spirit.
Book Buy Link: https://geni.us/eI0N9
Author Bio:
Jeanne has been a storyteller since she was six and began concocting fantastical stories: horses lived in the family's basement, some of which were blue; she had a cousin named MauKunna who lived in Hawaii and sent her exotic clothing; and she owned a pet dragon named Puffer who lived in the land of Honeylee, undoubtedly taken from Puff the Magic Dragon, who lived in the land of Honahlee.
In third grade, she won first prize for her story, The Lonely Christmas Tree. Other stories she wrote that have not been published include Growing Up and Not Liking It, When Did My Life Turn Stupid, Dreams of Death, and Love is an Overused Word.
Her writing focuses on the craziness and unfairness of life but also the beauty in the small things that make it worthwhile. And that mysterious entity, Death, who follows us all, always makes an appearance.
Writing for Jeanne is a need, not a want.
Editorial Review:
“He puffed out his chest. “That’s me. A young man, I was. Nothing spectacular, but nonetheless, not a bad-looking gent, average intelligence with goals: study, land a good-paying job, marry, buy a house, have children, and live to a ripe old age. At least the first two came true. I attended the local college, earned a degree in chemistry, and found a job at a well-respected, though underrated, research laboratory. I examined paint samples used on freight cars. Doesn’t sound exciting, but it was a very important position. I would rise to the pinnacle of…analyzing paint. Before you knew it, I’d be Vice President of Paint, saving the world from rust. Frankly, I hate rust. It corrodes so many lustrous things.”
Each of us might call it different names. Some of us might not believe it. But where does the soul go when the body dies? Can the living still be protected, and viewed? Does the soul move on? Is this…limbo…some sort of in-between state…something else? Julie Ann Wilson, dead at 15, is in the pages of “The Nearly Departed” by Jeanne K Johnson, and she is ready to answer all of your questions, some of which you did not know you had. Julie is worried about her family, and also trying to make sense of the cemetery she inhabits. Her discussions with other inhabitants are by turn entertaining and then, incredibly poignant. Julie’s conversation with the somewhat “dramatic” Lorena is a particular highlight.
The subject matter of “The Nearly Departed” may be confronting for some readers, but others will find the author’s treatment of this subject comforting, perhaps to some degree soothing the indescribable yearning of those of us who have lost a loved one. And death is a part of life, or at least that is what Julie might say, as she rails against fate, against the loss of her hopes and dreams. Except…Julie is still there, trying to help her family, trying to make things better.
“I neared the house―no lights. Maybe she’d left, maybe she’d killed herself, maybe she’d locked all the doors to keep demon daughter out. Then I saw a light, a light that had always burned and would continue to burn for me. Mom. She sat in Grandpa’s old rocking chair, reading a book, another resting on her lap. I climbed to the top step and sat. She didn’t look at me. Instead, she said, “A daughter and her mother are never free of one another, no matter how they disagree. For they are so entwined in heart and mind that, gladly or unwillingly, they share each love, each joy, each sorrow and each bitter wrong, life long.”
Johnson’s writing style fills the entire range of characterization, showing off the sass of a teenager, the rigidity of a staid adult, and then the pathos of a lovelorn fiancée who cannot let go. The novel is more than merely a paean to death, as Julie sets off to solve a mystery, in ways that are open to interpretation and merge the dead with the living in surprising ways. It is this mystery that moves “The Nearly Departed” from philosophical musings and gives the narrative further impetus.
“I had long ago stopped believing in ghosts or fairies who could whisper in your ear, warning of danger or offering sage advice, but a soft voice murmured in my ear, “Look down the hall.” Look down the hall? There was nothing to look at, no artwork like in the movies where you could open up the frame and find a compartment holding treasures. Nothing―just wall outlets. Then I saw it―an outlet, one that didn’t look like the others. It had a cover on it, and the cover was askew. I slid the cover aside. Bingo. There lay a key.”
“The Nearly Departed” by Jeanne K Johnson is an unexpected read. The blurb and the opening chapters make the subject matter clear, and yet this book is something more; the reader will no doubt both laugh and cry. Those who like this reviewer have lost someone during those magnificent but also confusing teenage years will be unable to avoid the temptation of parsing (yet again) the what ifs…and the mythical promise of one last wonderful summer before those we love are gone from our lives, but not our hearts. A thought provoking and deeply meaningful read. Take Julie’s advice, and stop to watch that sunset…
*****
“The Nearly Departed” by Jeanne K Johnson receives 4 ½ stars from The Historical Fiction Company
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