Garden of Heaven
Mythic World of Magic and Quantum Entanglements
“Garden of Heaven: an Odyssey,” tells a multi-layered story about a man whose life is twisted by the Vietnam War, compromised by the denizens of a corrupt college, and destroyed by a lover out for revenge.
When nineteen-year-old David Ward climbs the sacred mountain Nináistuko seeking a vision, the golden eagle of earth flings him back onto the prairie and the black horse of dreams shows him the future. Though his eyes are opened, fate hides exactly what he needs to know.
The spiritual journey that follows leads him through the mountains of Pakistan, the swamps of North Florida, the beaches of Hawaii, the waters of the South China Sea and the ivy-covered halls of an Illinois college as he attempts to sort out the shattered puzzle of his life.
A blend of realism and magical realism, the novel’s robust, non-linear structure emulates the randomness of memory while its multi-column sections illustrate the simultaneity of time’s pathways in a quantum universe.
Garden of Heaven has many location settings including Montana's Glacier National Park. This alpine meadow picture is very typical of the park's scenic views. - NPS photo.
"Give at least a month to this precious preserve. Time will not be taken from the sum of your life. Instead of shortening, it will indefinitely lengthen it and make you truly immortal"
-- John Muir, Our National Parks
Paperback Edition
"A journey is more than simply traveling. It allows much for introspection. "Garden of Heaven" tells of the travels of David Ward, a young man who is out to piece together his life after the Vietnam war and the failure of love. Traveling throughout the world across many continents, he gains an appreciation through the world in a tale that blends the natural with the mystical. 'Garden of Heaven' is a thought provoking novel, recommended." -- Midwest Book Review
My Title
The title of my novel, "Garden of Heaven" comes from an old Glacier National Park hiker's guidebook. The location is real even though the name didn't get picked up when the guide went out of print.
Click here for my post about the valley I used for my inspiration. If you've hiked along Cataract Creek between Lake Josephine and Piegan Pass, you've been to the Garden of Heaven already.
