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Threads of Purpose
Asher Tidwell never imagined his life would come to this—riding shotgun in a tinted-out SUV, delivering illicit pills to a high-stakes buyer in an upscale Houston neighborhood. Once a promising college football player, Asher now finds himself tangled in the dangerous ambitions of his best friend, Jim, a smooth-talking hustler who thrives on risk. But after a tense encounter with the police and unsettling signs that Jim’s recklessness is catching up to him, Asher begins questioning everything.
Struggling to break free from a cycle of poor choices, Asher is haunted by the creative passion he abandoned long ago—fashion design. Torn between survival and self-discovery, he wrestles with his past, the weight of his broken relationships, and the gnawing feeling that he’s meant for something more. As he navigates betrayal, ambition, and the consequences of his actions, Asher must decide: will he continue down a dangerous path, or will he dare to stitch together a new future, one thread at a time?
A gripping novel of identity, ambition, and redemption, Asher’s Threads explores the tension between survival and self-expression in a world where second chances are hard to come by.
Struggling to break free from a cycle of poor choices, Asher is haunted by the creative passion he abandoned long ago—fashion design. Torn between survival and self-discovery, he wrestles with his past, the weight of his broken relationships, and the gnawing feeling that he’s meant for something more. As he navigates betrayal, ambition, and the consequences of his actions, Asher must decide: will he continue down a dangerous path, or will he dare to stitch together a new future, one thread at a time?
A gripping novel of identity, ambition, and redemption, Asher’s Threads explores the tension between survival and self-expression in a world where second chances are hard to come by.
289 pages, ebook
Published June 1, 2025
About the author
Douglas Bell
3 books15 followersDouglas Bell is a debut African American writer with a BS in engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and a MA in business from Texas A&M University at College Station. Bell currently works as an engineer and once made his living as a magician. The heart of being a magician is about using magic to tell a story.
Bell relies on the mission of his Jesuit education: Being A Man for Others as the foundation for his service on religious and charitable boards.
Buddhist teachings and a small but strong core of straight, cisgender, transgender, gay, and lesbian friends supported Bell's desire to pursue another form of storytelling.
Bell relies on the mission of his Jesuit education: Being A Man for Others as the foundation for his service on religious and charitable boards.
Buddhist teachings and a small but strong core of straight, cisgender, transgender, gay, and lesbian friends supported Bell's desire to pursue another form of storytelling.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 5, 2025
Threads of Purpose by Douglas Bell is a novel about self-discovery and redemption. The deceptively simple prose may make it easier for readers to overlook some of the underlying currents in the book.
The story follows Asher Tidwell, a young medical resident who is also involved in shady drug dealings. This is largely a character-driven novel, and so we learn a great deal about the challenges Asher faces in every aspect of life, his values (generally woke) and his relationships.
The twist in his fate comes when he finds himself in the clutches of the law. Then begins the long journey to redemption.
One of the motifs this book touches on is the relationship between older women and younger men. Asher tries to approach the question with his friend by asking whether an older person should be in a relationship with a younger person. His friend quickly assumes that he meant the younger person was a woman. I think the reason for this assumption, that in a heterosexual relationship the woman should be younger or no more than a few years older than the man comes from social pressures and male preferences for younger women.
Though I myself wouldn't date someone much younger than me, so I believe female preferences have something to do with it too. Still, it is strange that we don't see preferences running the other way more often. It's like, from the perspective of men, women are seen as goods subject to depreciation over time. Yet those same men don't think they themselves are depreciating as they grow older.
The importance of youth in a female partner is also apparent in Asher, who actually seems to prefer older women but particularly those who look younger for their age. And while we're on the subject, I can remember plenty of movies and TV series where the woman was much younger than her husband, but rarely the other way around. In fact, Emmanuel Macron and his wife are the only real-life couple I can think of. This book definitely gets points for making me think about this.
Anyway, the book is filled with discussions that take the form of philosophy or social criticism. An important theme here is self-discovery, as Asher learns a lot about his own life and privileges.
Overall, I thought the philosophy and discussions were okay, but they were not packaged in high quality prose. So the book might not be quite quotable, but it still left you with a lot to think about. I do think though that as the writer continues their writing journey, they should work on being more than merely a storyteller; the prose should be vibrant, with at least some sort of energy. While there is a good amount of detail given about the protagonist’s life, I think it could have been delivered in better prose. It's only during a couple of conversations and in the descriptions of Asher’s life as a resident that I found the prose remarkable.
For example, we read about Asher's relationships—both romantic and platonic—but most of them are discussed so briefly and then they’re over. I believe they are supposed to be a powerful motif, and readers are expected to see, through Asher’s example, how much the people we come into contact with can affect us. However, the impact is never powerfully felt because the prose felt a little lacking. The author tries the 'show don't tell' method by not saying anything outright, but it doesn't do anything to make the reader stop and think either.
The story follows Asher Tidwell, a young medical resident who is also involved in shady drug dealings. This is largely a character-driven novel, and so we learn a great deal about the challenges Asher faces in every aspect of life, his values (generally woke) and his relationships.
The twist in his fate comes when he finds himself in the clutches of the law. Then begins the long journey to redemption.
One of the motifs this book touches on is the relationship between older women and younger men. Asher tries to approach the question with his friend by asking whether an older person should be in a relationship with a younger person. His friend quickly assumes that he meant the younger person was a woman. I think the reason for this assumption, that in a heterosexual relationship the woman should be younger or no more than a few years older than the man comes from social pressures and male preferences for younger women.
Though I myself wouldn't date someone much younger than me, so I believe female preferences have something to do with it too. Still, it is strange that we don't see preferences running the other way more often. It's like, from the perspective of men, women are seen as goods subject to depreciation over time. Yet those same men don't think they themselves are depreciating as they grow older.
The importance of youth in a female partner is also apparent in Asher, who actually seems to prefer older women but particularly those who look younger for their age. And while we're on the subject, I can remember plenty of movies and TV series where the woman was much younger than her husband, but rarely the other way around. In fact, Emmanuel Macron and his wife are the only real-life couple I can think of. This book definitely gets points for making me think about this.
Anyway, the book is filled with discussions that take the form of philosophy or social criticism. An important theme here is self-discovery, as Asher learns a lot about his own life and privileges.
Overall, I thought the philosophy and discussions were okay, but they were not packaged in high quality prose. So the book might not be quite quotable, but it still left you with a lot to think about. I do think though that as the writer continues their writing journey, they should work on being more than merely a storyteller; the prose should be vibrant, with at least some sort of energy. While there is a good amount of detail given about the protagonist’s life, I think it could have been delivered in better prose. It's only during a couple of conversations and in the descriptions of Asher’s life as a resident that I found the prose remarkable.
For example, we read about Asher's relationships—both romantic and platonic—but most of them are discussed so briefly and then they’re over. I believe they are supposed to be a powerful motif, and readers are expected to see, through Asher’s example, how much the people we come into contact with can affect us. However, the impact is never powerfully felt because the prose felt a little lacking. The author tries the 'show don't tell' method by not saying anything outright, but it doesn't do anything to make the reader stop and think either.
June 16, 2025
Received an ARC from the author.
I didn't quite know what to expect when I started reading Threads of purpose. The book was marked as a romance, and although there definitely is a touch of relationships in this book, I would call it either contemporary fiction, or even family drama.
The story follows Asher, an ex school football player, now resident medical student, who is struggling financially and gets involved in selling drugs thanks to an old friend from his football days. When a deal goes wrong and he gets arrested, his already complicated life gets turned upside down.
Through the story Asher grows, falls in love, and slowly attempts to sort out his life.
I had a bit of a complex time with this book.
On the one hand, I liked the characters-I liked that they grew through the story, and I really enjoyed the story itself, the lessons it was trying to teach, and the view into a different type of world than what I'm used to.
On the other hand, I feel like there was a lot that the author could have said and that it was sacrificed for writing a shorter book.
The characters felt a little plain and one-dimensional. The background story _was_ there for them, but there was a lot of quick telling and not a whole lot of showing, so most of that background was just an aside in the text, making the characters feel very plain.
"Oh, he likes fashion" Ok, we hardly see it, it's just told to us. I would have liked seeing this more through the story that showed us that he enjoyed it and was passionate about it.
So although the story was good, it really felt like I was missing out on a lot of it by moving through it too quickly.
And finally, the dialogue felt a little... stilted. As in, the average human doesn't speak like that.
Overall, I liked a lot of the ideas in the book and the story, but the execution wasn't for me.
Would I still recommend it? Yeah.
It's a quick and easy read, so if you're into a quick read in contemporary fiction, and a diverse yet concise book dealing with race, classism, and so on, I would recommend it.
But I still feel like most the meat of the book is found reading between the lines on what wasn't written or shown to us.
I would love to see the author add more depth to his style in future books, because I think he has some interesting stories to tell.
I didn't quite know what to expect when I started reading Threads of purpose. The book was marked as a romance, and although there definitely is a touch of relationships in this book, I would call it either contemporary fiction, or even family drama.
The story follows Asher, an ex school football player, now resident medical student, who is struggling financially and gets involved in selling drugs thanks to an old friend from his football days. When a deal goes wrong and he gets arrested, his already complicated life gets turned upside down.
Through the story Asher grows, falls in love, and slowly attempts to sort out his life.
I had a bit of a complex time with this book.
On the one hand, I liked the characters-I liked that they grew through the story, and I really enjoyed the story itself, the lessons it was trying to teach, and the view into a different type of world than what I'm used to.
On the other hand, I feel like there was a lot that the author could have said and that it was sacrificed for writing a shorter book.
The characters felt a little plain and one-dimensional. The background story _was_ there for them, but there was a lot of quick telling and not a whole lot of showing, so most of that background was just an aside in the text, making the characters feel very plain.
"Oh, he likes fashion" Ok, we hardly see it, it's just told to us. I would have liked seeing this more through the story that showed us that he enjoyed it and was passionate about it.
So although the story was good, it really felt like I was missing out on a lot of it by moving through it too quickly.
And finally, the dialogue felt a little... stilted. As in, the average human doesn't speak like that.
Overall, I liked a lot of the ideas in the book and the story, but the execution wasn't for me.
Would I still recommend it? Yeah.
It's a quick and easy read, so if you're into a quick read in contemporary fiction, and a diverse yet concise book dealing with race, classism, and so on, I would recommend it.
But I still feel like most the meat of the book is found reading between the lines on what wasn't written or shown to us.
I would love to see the author add more depth to his style in future books, because I think he has some interesting stories to tell.
July 8, 2025
Cover: I received two! I picked one to display here - colorful!
I like a balanced book like Threads of Purpose. I really do.
Length? Check. Not too short, so that I’m not left craving for more, and not too long, so that I’m not virtually picking up my red pen and start marking out sections that could have been left out.
Grammar and technical parts? Check. There are no typos, no mistakes, the story has a pleasant rhythm. It’s obvious that the author knows how to write—this has little to do with the numbers of published books and a lot to do with natural skills and time spent honing them—and has a good editorial team behind them. While it’s true that writing is a lonely job (at least the actual typing part), it takes a village to make it all work together. Subplots, loose ends, the main character arc, the story arc… someone else needs to be there every step of the way and play reality check, and it’s better if it’s someone who knows what they’re doing.
Plot? Check. It needs to be captivating, a page turner. This is easy to say and hard to do. This is exactly what Bell did here. We’re following Asher through highs and lows (more lows than highs, at least for a while), in a—yay!—dialogue-heavy prose, where the main arc is weaved seamlessly with the subplots.
No spoilers policy is forcing me not to go into detail, also because it’s not up on GR yet and I don’t know what the finalized blurb is going to say. I can point out how Asher is a character crafted well enough to carry the whole story, with a cast of secondaries that’s balanced and reads real (Emily!). Asher himself is a strong character, period. My favorite, though? Aunt Sugar. Forgive me the repetition and forget the strong woman stereotype that's so trendy lately; there's nothing stereotypical about her. Do I agree with everything she does? Nah. I like her anyway tho, and this is where skills come through, again. Well done.
Flaws, uh. Fewer details about appearances and easier on character introductions, maybe. Clothing choices are details I tend to skip for the most part, since I get a fully formed image of a character the moment I read their names (I never said I was normal), and I guess I’m a bit particular on how to weave characterization into the plot. All this is a personal preference, however. We’re far from infodump territory, which is the only line I would wave a red pen at if crossed. Not a fan of onomatopeias either.
4 stars on GR.
I like a balanced book like Threads of Purpose. I really do.
Length? Check. Not too short, so that I’m not left craving for more, and not too long, so that I’m not virtually picking up my red pen and start marking out sections that could have been left out.
Grammar and technical parts? Check. There are no typos, no mistakes, the story has a pleasant rhythm. It’s obvious that the author knows how to write—this has little to do with the numbers of published books and a lot to do with natural skills and time spent honing them—and has a good editorial team behind them. While it’s true that writing is a lonely job (at least the actual typing part), it takes a village to make it all work together. Subplots, loose ends, the main character arc, the story arc… someone else needs to be there every step of the way and play reality check, and it’s better if it’s someone who knows what they’re doing.
Plot? Check. It needs to be captivating, a page turner. This is easy to say and hard to do. This is exactly what Bell did here. We’re following Asher through highs and lows (more lows than highs, at least for a while), in a—yay!—dialogue-heavy prose, where the main arc is weaved seamlessly with the subplots.
No spoilers policy is forcing me not to go into detail, also because it’s not up on GR yet and I don’t know what the finalized blurb is going to say. I can point out how Asher is a character crafted well enough to carry the whole story, with a cast of secondaries that’s balanced and reads real (Emily!). Asher himself is a strong character, period. My favorite, though? Aunt Sugar. Forgive me the repetition and forget the strong woman stereotype that's so trendy lately; there's nothing stereotypical about her. Do I agree with everything she does? Nah. I like her anyway tho, and this is where skills come through, again. Well done.
Flaws, uh. Fewer details about appearances and easier on character introductions, maybe. Clothing choices are details I tend to skip for the most part, since I get a fully formed image of a character the moment I read their names (I never said I was normal), and I guess I’m a bit particular on how to weave characterization into the plot. All this is a personal preference, however. We’re far from infodump territory, which is the only line I would wave a red pen at if crossed. Not a fan of onomatopeias either.
4 stars on GR.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews