A Long Way To Contentment

by Boyd Lemon

There's a new kind of hero in town––Brad, multifaceted, talented, flawed, lonely and powerful.
Brad, the family man who sits for hours with his comatose sister in a San Francisco hospital.
Brad, damaged and abandoned by his mother, ignored by his father.
Brad, still waiting for the best seller his agent believes he deserves.
Brad, the man who drives away his disappointment, pain and horror with the cocaine he desires so much.
Brad, the prisoner of Myanmar.
Welcome to Brad's world.

In Boyd Lemon's epic, contemporary new novel we see a different side of Lemon, a side that we have waited so long to see. Where will Boyd take Brad?

364 pages, Paperback

First published January 9, 2014

About the author

Quote From Author Boyd Lemon:

I lived most of my life in Southern California. I am a retired lawyer who reinvented himself as an author. I moved to Boston in March 2007, where I stayed until spring of 2010. I loved it -- great city. From Boston, at the age of 69, I moved to Paris for a year. I now live in St. Marys, Georgia.
I have written five books: "Retirement: A Memoir and Guide; "Digging Deep: A Writer Uncovers His Marriages," a memoir about my journey to understand my role in the destruction of my three marriages; "Unexpected Love and Other Stories," a collection of short stories about life, love and human frailties and strengths; "Eat, Walk, Write: An American Senior's Year of Adventure in Paris and Tuscany;" and a law book. I have also written and published two short books, "Games," five of my short stories; and "Diverity: A Road Trip Across the U.S.A.".

I'm learning to draw. I love good food and wine, listening to good music and walking on the beach, in beautiful cities like Paris and Boston and on mountain trails.

I love that so many of my life dreams have come true: Lived in a home with a stunning 180 degree view of the California coast, Traveled to Africa, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria, France, Ireland, Costa Rica....

I Am a working artist!

Here is what someone else wrote about me.

“Life Begins at 70……

After a stellar 40-year career as a top and nationally recognized attorney in his field (Time Magazine called him first after Martha Stewart's conviction of insider trading), Boyd Lemon followed a deep calling, and began the life of an artist as he neared retirement age. Following his heart led him to face a painful past, and re-invent himself as artist and writer. The journey as artist began in the idyllic coastal town of Ventura, California, then on to the venerable literary, music and art scenes of Boston, and finally to living the dream life of many an artist, a Bohemian year on the Left Bank in Paris, with a final few months in the hills of Tuscany before returning to California. Once Lemon started writing, his passion, combined with years of discipline as a professional, gained the notice of world-renowned writer and teacher, Natalie Goldberg, who invited Lemon to her prestigious year-long workshop for writers in Taos. His book, Digging Deep, is a memoir about Boyd Lemon's role in the destruction of his three marriages. This is a journey to understand one man's role in marriages that ended in divorce, confusion, bitterness and blame. The Pearl has been the journey of the writing, for the writer himself, and the peace that writing has brought him. Lemon lived on the cusp of the moralistic generation that grew up in the 1940s and 50s and the next generation that embraced sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll, as well as equality and independence for women. The transition rocked all pretenses of his working class upbringing. The writer's hope is that revealing the path of his own struggle to clarity and peace leads others to their own awakening, as so many modern couples and individuals deal with understanding and defining the new order in relationships, as well as facing their own past.

Reviews

[Sharon Lippincott · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my opinion, the real heroes in life don’t wear scarlet capes and fly through the sky. They don’t leap tall buildings — or even small ones — at a single bound. They claw their way out of the pits of despair and transcend the past to find true happiness in authentic living and meaningful connection. Especially in the beginning, this story tends to be drab and gray. Not even fifty shades of gray. But therein lies its strength. In several respects Brad represents the “real” American of today, growing up on the edge in a broken family with virtually no adult connection. Dysfunction. Alienation. Alcohol. Drugs. The sad truth is that it’s there. It’s real. This doesn’t make for glamorous reading. But take a cue from the title of Lemon’s masterful first memoir and dig deeper into this story.

Lemon does a stellar job of making Brad’s initial numbness authentic and real as he continues his luge run down the slippery slope to an inescapable brick wall. In this case that wall was a prison in Myanmar. The gruesome prison interlude had me on the edge of my seat. Brad’s losses brought tears to my eyes. The good news is that he did wake up from his nightmarish lifestyle. He did transcend the pit and find color in his life, turning gray into greatness on a small, entirely human scale. Although the story ends when Brad is in his early thirties, the insights he derived as he matured are thought provoking for readers of any age.

If you’re looking for a book to put your life and woes in perspective, slide your eyes between these covers. If you’re looking for titillating escape, this is not the book for you.

In the interests of transparency I must mention that I read an earlier version of A Long Way to Contentment and was struck by its promise. I am pleased to find this final version even more solid and smooth, incorporating suggestions from a large team of readers. Furthermore, at least in recent years, turning the final page of a book without finding a single error or typo is a rare occurrence. If this book has such a flaw, it escaped my notice. Five stars for that!

[Bufo Calvin · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Long Way to Contentment is from a popular philosophical school of writing: life is bad, people are worse, and if you survive the latter...yay.

It's an interesting approach to the world, not one that I particularly share (I tend to be an optimist who believes that people are basically good).

This is a place where the way that Goodreads defines their star system of rating a book can be...difficult. Two stars means that it was "ok", which perhaps understates the quality of the writing for the first three quarters or so of the book...I would rate that as above "okay".

However, the next step up is "I liked it", and while I didn't dislike it, I wouldn't say that I liked it either.

Up until the end of the book, the writing is evocative and shows skill. Yes, pretty much everything it evokes is either pity or disgust, but it seems to be striving for that...and it accomplishes its goal, not something every book does.

The point at which the dialog became more unbelievable for me (I would even say "stilted") was when the author was trying to describe a positive attitude.

My guess is that Boyd Lemon might have been happier (even if that might be a paradoxical term in this case) if the book had been entirely downbeat, but others advised the introduction of some positivity...which was then handled without as much artfulness.

There is both sex and violence (sometimes simultaneously), described vividly.

Overall, I can see how some people would want to read it, and if what I've described doesn't dissuade you, then you are getting something of quality. In the literature of despondency, I would say it is better than most.