Category: Self Examination

Looking beneath the surface to understand why we do what we do

PAGE 1 OR DONE! by Art Smukler, MD, author & psychiatrist

by artsmuklermd, posted in Psychiatry, Self Examination, Writing

CHAPTER 1

TRUTH OR FANTASY?

Two years and one day after Nelson Bennett died, he rose from the dead.

Amidst the hundreds of people strolling down the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, California he stood alone, hair dark brown, not prematurely gray like it used to be, and at least thirty pounds lighter.

“Nelson!” Jake yelled. “Nelson!” The man was about fifty feet away – close enough for Jake to clearly make out his features; far enough for Jake to wonder if he was hallucinating. There was no way Jake could ever forget or mistake Nelson’s face. It was the face of his older brother, his only brother and only sibling.

The man turned, stared straight at Jake, his blue eyes locking onto Jake’s blue eyes. Abruptly, he glanced over his shoulder, a startled look transforming his gaunt, clean-shaven face, and he placed his index finger in front of his lips. Then he pivoted, and like a snowflake landing on a hot windshield, melted away.

“Stop!” Jake hollered, shoving past two young couples walking in front of him, pushing his way through the endless crowd of people toward the spot where Nelson’s image had vanished.

There in front of the designer eyeglass store, Jake stretched his six-foot frame and stood on his tiptoes to see over the passing crowd. No sign of Nelson anywhere. How could there be? Nelson’s ashes were sitting on a shelf in his closet.

Jake took a deep breath and broke into a run. He knew his behavior was absurd and that Nelson was dead. He also knew what he had just seen.

That’s the rule when you’re not John Grisham, Michael Connolly, or Nelson DeMille etc. To join their hallowed ranks, you need readers, and to get readers you have to immediately engage them.

Like the first page of NINE NORTH? Click to buy it.

Love the book? Tell friends. Go on Amazon. Thanks in advance. Art

#Mysteythriller #lovestory #hidingonapsychunit #Hassidiclife

LIFE IS IMPROVISATION, by Art Smukler, MD, author & psychiatrist

by artsmuklermd, posted in Psychiatry, Self Examination, Writing

Last night, I saw Herbie Hancock at the Hollywood Bowl.

Wow. Still terrific at 82 years old. Warm. Inclusive. A terrific jazz pianist.

He started the evening by introducing his 2 year-old grandson, who toddled on stage wearing a huge pair of earphones, and holding his grandpa’s hand. Before any words were spoken, the little boy hit the keys on the piano. Herbie said that this was his grandson’s second appearance, so technically, at the age of two, he’d already performed twice at The Bowl.

We all laughed. The little boy walked off the stage, and Herbie and his group started playing. A few minutes later, Herbie chatted about his life and mentioned that we, everyone in the audience, were improvisers. That’s what life is all about, from minute to minute, and of course that’s what jazz is all about.

His words resonated.

We can’t predict what will happen next in our lives, but we should be ready to improvise, to have the courage to try new things, to do what’s necessary to solve whatever comes our way.

In THE REAL STORY, a mystery, Joe Belmont is stuck. His traumatic past is too painful and he deals with it by not dealing with it. Lara, his medical student girlfriend, suspects that the answer to his problems is locked up in his unconscious.

Joe thinks otherwise.

But how can a person improvise, make creative decisions, when the past rules him?

He can’t.

#THEREALSTORY #HerbieHancock #mystery #suspense #unconscious-events