Five Steps

by Tim I. Gurung

SYNOPSIS: John lost his family in a freak accident; he found a memory chip on the location of the incident and decided to find out if those telephone numbers found on the chip have anything to do with the accident. The whirlwind journey took him to Okinawa, Lhasa, Kashmir, New York and Portland Island in UK. In the course of the journey, he learned to see things differently and achieved a lot more than it would have been possible otherwise. Read the book and find out what he had actually done during his time in those places and the life he had managed to change for others.

Genres: Fiction

237 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 26, 2015

About the author

TIM I GURUNG is an author working on 15 books based in Hong Kong, he writes on serious global and social issues, and he only writes for his charity – ISSLCARE.

Before becoming a fulltime author at fifty, he worked in the manufacturing field in China for more than twenty years, ran his own successful international company from Hong Kong, and visited many countries during the course of his business career.

Before becoming an entrepreneur, he served in the legendary British Gurkhas army, world renowned for their unparalleled bravery and unconditional loyalty, for thirteen years and retired at his own will. During his long career, he served in Hong Kong, Brunei and United Kingdom respectively and visited other countries as well for temporary deployment.

His humble upbringing back in the remote village of Nepal had taught him about the importance of living a simple life with humility. It is the main reason why he had decided to become a writer of righteousness and conscience. Writing is his passion, helping others is his compassion, and the combination is his solution of living a meaningful life. He writes simply because he wants to help others – end of the story!

In a recent post, he described about 7 reasons why people should read his books and here is the list for all.

1. I really don’t write for money or fame.
2. I always write directly from my heart.
3. My books are for people, society and mankind.
4. My books are unique, knowledgeable and useful.
5. My books contain no vulgarity, bad elements and violence.
6. My books make you learn and respect for other culture, tradition and way of life.
7. And I only write for my charity.

ISSLCARE FOUNDATION LTD is a charity based in Hong Kong, it helps provide scholarship to poor children in Nepal and it already has 27 children in its program through 8 schools. It has the will and aspiration of expanding the campaign throughout the nation one day and be able to help as many children as possible.

In addition, he also regularly contributes in a local news portal and his works are featured in various sites. His weekly blog attracts regular readers in huge numbers.

He is currently writing five books all at once and hoping to finish them all within the year end. His biggest project yet for 2017 is writing a true non-fiction book about the great Gurkhas. He will be visiting Hong Kong, Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Myanmar, India, Nepal, UK, and other European nations in research works of the book which will be published in 2018. Happy reading and God bless you all!

Reviews

[Abha · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘Five Steps’
by Tim I. Gurung
Tim Gurung (2015)
ISBN 9789881409751
Reviewed by Abha Iyengar


Steps from Catastrophe to Healing

Five Steps is a novel that reaches you at various levels. It is a kind of a travelogue, for as John, the protagonist, travels from Hong Kong, where he lives, to Japan to Tibet to India, and then New York and U.K. , and finally to Nepal, we travel with him, taking in the sights and sounds, and are introduced to the beauty and the way of life of these parts. It is also a novel that tries to solve the issues that rear their heads in our world everyday: the changing life order from the past to the present, of countries exerting control, of illegal trade, of youth destroyed by drugs, of violence, inhumanity and cruelty. It is also a story of a man who, despite the tragedy of loss in his own life, does not seek revenge, but instead, goes on to bring good into the lives he touches.

Of course, in his attempts to bring a change for the better among the people and lands he visits, we may find it strange that John has so many qualities: he appears to be larger than life, with answers to almost all the questions that plague the world. Some parts of the book therefore sound like sermons. That may be what heroes are made of, but in today’s times, it is difficult to swallow things like the fact that he knows the Indian language and quotes a phrase to a Britisher; explaining what it means to be colonized. It is almost as though the discovery of the memory stick with the numbers gives young John phenomenal understanding and knowledge as well.

Tim I. Gurung’s first book’s most potent message is that despite personal loss, one can surface out of depression and unhappiness by moving out to help others with compassion and understanding, and thus find peace. It offers sound advice to those of us looking for some answers to existence.

[P.S. Winn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read about love, loss and life. Readers follow John after a devastating loss of his wife and son. Finding a memory stick with five numbers on it, John begins his travels to different places and cultures, making a difference in each place he arrives at.He is also trying to find a way to fill his own sense of loss and perhaps also find some healing along the way. The author has a great, reader friendly writing style and readers will find themselves lost in the story and maybe learning a few things about life, love and people along the way.

[Kay Elliston · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway and I really wanted to like this; the plot is engaging and the message is uplifting, but there was something about the execution that left me disappointed. Maybe it is because Tim I. Gurung wrote it in a second language, or maybe it is translated from his native one. The narrative is simplistic, rather like a fairytale, which is effective to a certain degree, but for a novel it was frustrating as not enough detail is there and questions unanswered. I was so sorry that I didn't enjoy it more as Mr. Gurung's motive for his writing is so admirable. I so wanted it to be a page-turner and I persisted to complete the book and hoped that the culmination of the "Five Steps" would reveal a message, like, as I said earlier, a fairytale. Maybe I missed the point somewhere.

[R.W. Lang · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story begins in Hong Kong with a devastating explosion that kills John's wife and son, and nearly kills him. When John is finally released from the hospital, he returns to the scene of the accident looking for something, anything to make sense of what happened. He finds a computer memory stick with five random phone numbers on it. Desperate to find a new meaning for his life, John sells his belongings and decides to track down the people associated with the phone numbers. What John finds in these five steps is amazing; it frees his spirit from the heartache of his lost family and readies him for his final journey. Tim donates his book royalties to Isslcare Foundation Ltd, a charity for the old, poor and needy in Hong Kong.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Five Steps by Tim I. Gurung John is devasted after his wife and son die in an explosion. A month after the explosion he visits the site of their death. While looking around he finds a computer memory stick; the only thing saved on them is a list of five phone numbers. He can't help but wonder if the numbers are somehow connected to the explosion and decides investigate the people connected to them. Within a month he sells his home and most his belongings then sets of on a quest for answers. 
 
This is an inspirational story of moving past grief and finding reasons to live again.

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

This book was interesting. It's about a man who lost his family and goes on a trip looking for people that may be tied to the accident. John (the main character) goes on a journey to help him find closure. On his journey it turned out to be different. He helped different families who was in a bad situation. His strength in God and words of wisdom helped them turn their life around for the better.

[Alison]

kindle 236 (inspirational?)

[Chaplain Stanley Chapin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting

Having had occasion to have been in each of the places it made the message of good that much better.

[Cathy McGough · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five Steps is a deeply inspiring book, which takes you on the journey of a man who has lost his family. Having no more reason to live, he finds reason by travelling from one part of the world to another on a quest. There is much wisdom contained in this book and I will refer back to it again and again over time.