Cloud Cover

by John Riddley

Looking at societies around the world, stories in the news or in history books can be overwhelming. A psychological and emotional distance is created, a cognitive dissonance. These are the stories of people in countries worldwide experiencing upheaval—as told by them in the afterlife.This book takes you right into the thoughts of each person, so you can experience these events as they took place and see their direct impact on their lives. We are bound to repeat history if we don’t learn from it. We are bound to make the same mistakes, fall into the same traps, repeat the same behaviors, do the wrong thing. Societies rise and fall because of these mistakes. Groups come into conflict because of these mistakes. We mistrust each other based on fear, based on envy, based on what we are told to think and feel. We don't know what we don't the truth lies hidden, buried beneath the lies spread by our leaders. This is how societies fall apart, this is how people distrust and dislike each other, this is what leads to misplaced anger.Societies around the world in the 20th and 21st century have been ripped apart by misunderstanding and false prophets. People blindly follow people with silver tongues. But their tongues are only silver because we think they are, really they are made of copper tin, prone to rusting over time. There has been great upheaval in our lives, in the lives of our parents, and grandparents. But do we understand it? Do we even know about it?This book seeks to illuminate the past and bring it to life, as told to you by those who lived it, and were caught up in events beyond their control. You may ask yourself what you would do if faced with a similar situation, how you would behave, how you would act, how you would feel. It’s easy to judge in life, it’s easy to focus on one's day-to-day life and forget there’s a world out there where we’re all connected—it’s easy to forget who we are and how we got here. Forgetting may be easy, but it’s a trap. None of us are safe from societal upheavals and, if we aren’t vigilant, if we aren’t aware, we can find ourselves a character in a story such as these.This is a call to action to learn, to be empowered, and to be free of hatred, misogynistic behavior, intolerance, violence, and greed. We’re all capable of great personal growth or great mistreatment of others. All of us have the power to love or to hurt others. All of us have the power to change. It requires effort and diligence. If we let up, kick back, and stop caring about others, only focus on our own needs and wants—the cracks appear, and our society and communities start to crumble.Read these stories and see what feelings they produce in you—empathy, compassion, and knowledge. Knowledge is power, and intolerance is the opposite of knowledge. The world is on a path toward greater intolerance, war, and violence—but we can stop that, if collectively, we get involved and try.

387 pages, Hardcover

Published October 30, 2023