Book of Days

By Charles Bechtel

It begins: “Claude had a mother and two sisters, older, a grandmother — in his memories, a shadow — three angry aunts, (one married with children: a boy in diapers, another boy, and a girl who liked to tickle his testes on occasion) and, for a time, a father.”

And so it was... We live, we love, we marvel, we become the lost, we suffer loss, we seek our joys and reach for our potentials.

Our lives, as was his, are made up of the people with whom — and because of whom — we grow, whether they remain or vanish with the dawn. There are some who go abruptly, leaving enormous holes where they once had stood, and some who remain as dependable as the air.

The "Book of Days" more than follows the life, the soul, the heart and thoughts of Claude, a boy who wanted to draw, a youth who had to see, and a man compelled to put himself on a canvas. The twelve days visited invite a reader to inhabit this person, who sought only to find honesty and permanence among those who touched him, and within himself.

Claude’s story is told in twelve chapters, each covering a different but significant day in his long life. Through them all, a reader will find the quintessential American man of the late twentieth century: a boy, a friend, a man, a lover, a husband, a teacher, a father.

The author considers the "Book of Days" to be the most honest and humane book he has ever written. Join him, and you’ll fall in love several times.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Charles Bechtel
• Release date: Sep 28, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301187690

Charles Bechtel

Born:Spring Lake, North Carolina, April, 1953, fourth day, five minutes past midnight (thus late for my parents’ anniversary, which sets a standard for all such events from then on.)Educated:a long while back, when colleges offered to improve human beings attending their classes, not dedicate themselves to the function of making a person employable. Ahh, the good old days.Undergraduate degree: In English from a State college in Glassboro, NJ, that changed its name to Rowan University when Mr. Rowan gave it a huge wad of cash.Master degree:In English from Temple University in 1996, which is where I got to learn exactly what I needed to know from David H. Bradley, the author of a fine book, “The Chaneysville Incident” *among others) which I recommend reading. Otherwise, graduate school for writers is a waste of time and money.Marriage:I married to the finest woman on Earth, by accounts of many others more than myself: Manuela.I married once before, but for practice. It lasted a mere sixteen months.Manuela brought with her two wonderful young ladies, Elizabeth (Baby Beth) and Manuela (Meme), who each in turn delivered into my life young ladies of inestimable worth: Sky (b. 2003) Lucy (b. 2007) and Mia (b. 2008.) Though I give to each huge chunks of my heart, doing so has increased that heart’s size.Work History:Let’s say I worked, and have enjoyed no occupation more than Educator. My students put their trust in me; I put my faith in them. Pretty much always works out.What I do for fun:Everything. If it is not fun, I quickly stop doing it. (see Work, above)Writing Philosophy:Make sense by appealing to the senses.

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