A Wizard's Guide to Family Recovery

by Lance S Wilson

Merlynn has lived as a queen in a chess set for several centuries and is on a quest to fix a mistake that left her student, a little pawn named QP, feeling insecure and worthless.

Arnie is also on a mission. He is determined to help his friend, Michael, learn to cope with the trauma of having a bipolar son who has gone missing and an alcoholic daughter still living at home wreaking havoc. Their conversations take place over games of chess after attending family recovery support meetings. Unbeknownst to Arnie and Michael, Merlynn and QP listen intently to their discussions and process what they hear when returned to their worn velvet chess bag.

If you are struggling with codependency or other forms of family trauma, this book can help. Please join Merlynn, QP, Arnie, and Michael on this moving, yet lighthearted, journey from restlessness to calm, from uncertainty to confidence, and from sleepless nights to pleasant dreams. Along the way, surprising insights are revealed by an ancient owl, historical figures, brilliant chess grand masters, and attendees at a Dead & Company concert.

167 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 20, 2025

Reviews

[Richard Cook]

A good easy read, with lots of life lessons gently passed along in the dialog. This is an imaginative concept for a novel, with a fantasy element, engaging characters, and a story that keeps your interest. Lance is not a professional in this area, but has direct life experience with the kinds of challenges his characters face and has great insights that he allows them to pass along. If you are lucky (and rare) enough to not be involved with a friend or family member dealing with mental illness or substance abuse, it’s a painless way (actually pleasant if you enjoy reading) to become a little familiar with what many people are facing in life. For most of the rest of us, it can reinforce what you know and probably introduce you to other resources as the characters describe to each other the books they’ve read or experiences they’ve had.

[C.A. Gray]

I met this author at an author signing event, and was impressed enough by his personal story that I decided to give his book a try. It's an episodic, amusing fictional frame story involving Merlynn the wizard (as a time-traveling chess piece), designed to convey various self-help topics presumably covered in AA and Al-Anon meetings. Entertaining and touching by turns.