“Empty Nest” and Other Stories

by Angelyn Spignesi Kopylec Arden

TESTIMONIALS

“These stories take you to the inner world of the mind and soul through people, images, and symbols that are at once unique and universal. The people come from everyday life. They are old, young, rich, poor, married, divorced, and yes, empty nesters. Angelyn Arden writes about human conflicts everyone encounters at some point–abandonment, isolation, loneliness, anxiety, inter-generational trauma, and simple human pettiness—but her message is not one of despair. These are stories of hope. Arden’s characters have the courage to explore their conscious and subconscious realms of being, embracing the colorful images they find there, and in the process, they experience healing. If you dare to join them, you may emerge with greater insight into your own psyche. And for those who are open to it, Arden’s stories can transform the reader through faith—not the rigidity of religious dogma, but the freedom and fluidity of a spirit who seeks to liberate, guiding the fictional characters, and the astute reader, to a higher plane of being. There are many layers of meaning here, and what begins as a pleasant escape into a fictional world may end in a deep discovery of the soul.” – Christine Marchetti, Professor of World Religions, CT State Community College

“Spectacular depth!” – Dr. Sebastian Mahfood, OP, author of The Narrative Spirituality of Dante’s Divine Comedy

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Angelyn Arden holds a doctorate in cognitive psychology from the University of New Hampshire and did postdoctoral work in depth psychology, literature, and phenomenology. She has written books and articles on the interface of these areas.  She had a depth psychology practice for 25+ years. She currently serves as Professor of Humanities and Psychologist at Holy Apostles College and Seminary where she has been, since 2006, teaching courses in literature and psychology to undergraduates and Human Formation to seminarians.

Obsidian Mirth

The characters in Thom Brucie’s Obsidian Mirth fall into a dilemma where loss and betrayal entangle the need for forgiveness and love. Their choices reveal what distinctions lie between knowing one’s self and knowing another, choices that expose that small moment tottering between life-affirming hope and the despair of meaninglessness. This is a heart-rending and beautiful story, and these characters will hover at the outskirts of your thoughts like whispering ghosts of past kinships.

Paperback: $14.95 | Hardback: $19.95 | Kindle/Nook: $9.99

The Prairies Book Review

Obsidian Mirth by Thom Brucie – The Prairies Book Review (November 19, 2022)

Deep, absorbing, and poignant…A many-layered story told with an authentic touch.

Sharply observed relationships, deft exploration of mental illness, authentic characters, and a touch of painful reality make Brucie’s nuanced novel a sure bet. While working as a dishwasher at a California bistro, college sophomore Daniel Reed falls deeply in love with the beautiful Charlene. A sudden unexpected incident forces the couple to marry in haste. When Charlene gets pregnant, Daniel accepts his boss’s offer of partnership and kick starts his own business. But things take an unexpected turn; Charlene begins to experience frequent episodes of paranoid schizophrenia, and Daniel’s business faces bankruptcy. With Charlene’s worsening condition, Daniel has no choice but to make a difficult decision. Brucie delves into the intricacies of love, marriage, and relationships and creates a remarkably original story with authentic young adult friendships, realistic dialogue, and complex underlying questions: can love really conquer all? Even if you don’t always have the best of everything, can you still have a near-perfect life? Smooth, affecting first-person narration in Daniel’s voice, allows readers to both identify with the young man’s self-doubts, fears, and insecurities and recognize his naivety and easy trust of people. Daniel’s love story is complicated by grief spirals. His emotional arc is all the more powerful for how much he fights for his love. His life’s other complications come from his unsavory business decisions and Charlene’s gradual descent into a dark web of mental illness. In the end, though, he realizes he has to learn to tackle hard truths head-on. Overall, the story moves subtly and at a measured pace, creating a rich emotional landscape and letting small changes—Charlene’s gradually occurring psychotic episodes, Daniel’s deepening financial woes—ripple out gently. The spark between the couple and their authentic individual bonds with Mark and Odette deepen this dense story, which delves into complex issues—the residual effects of one person’s mental illness on family and friends, acceptance of imperfect partners, and what it means to love truly and wholly. This nuanced story offers new perspectives about mental illness while emphasizing the value and complexity of love, acceptance, understanding, and forgiveness. Even though Charlene and Daniels’ love story ends on a tragic note readers will enjoy every minute they spend with the couple. Brucie is an author to watch.

REVIEW FROM THE AMERICAN WRITING AWARDS

Obsidian Mirth, by Thom Brucie, is an intriguing love story unlike any other. Daniel Reed, a good-looking kind, poor college sophomore and loving dreamer working as a dishwasher at a California bistro falls deeply in love with Charlene, a flawlessly white-skinned red lipsticked newly hired waitress beauty. The main theme of the story is set early. As Brucie writes: 

Love is not 50/50, 60/40, or 80/20. It is not even 100/100. Love is 100/0. When a man loves, he gives everything he’s got, and he expects nothing in return. He loves unequivocally because he loves. Love is love. That’s it. And when a man loves a woman, he loves her. One hundred percent. Nothing less. Anything less is not love. It’s something else. It could be almost love; or maybe great like; or even something such as admiration. But real love is real love. It’s all the way. It’s indomitable. It’s life-long.

Act one of this unique piece of work details the honeymoon phase of Daniel and Charlene’s relationship—the first dates, nights out with friends, intimate moments, and their first night together as a married couple. The calm before the proverbial storm.

Brucie sets the final act with a much different tone. He introduces the reader to and focuses on Charlene’s troubles with mental health—adult onset paranoid schizophrenia—and the hapless business decisions of her loving husband which leave the young family teetering near total desperation. Over the course of nearly the entire story—which is only about five years, Daniel and Charlene, still only in their early twenties, endure a never-ending merry-go-round of setbacks and emotions as they struggle to deal with the ever-worsening Charlene.

Obsidian Mirth is truly a masterful piece of work as it puts on full display the level of love needed to persist through a hellish diagnosis. The story’s beautiful prose compliments Brucie’s meticulous attention to detail elevating each page and gripping the reader’s attention. He writes like a well-versed psychologist or spiritual leader taking the reader on a heart-wrenching quest through a plotline filled with a series of unexpected events centered around a compelling cast of unforgettable characters. Obsidian Mirth is a tortuous romance from an author at the top of his game.

TESTIMONIALS

“The novel Obsidian Mirth by Thom Brucie portrays the compelling story of Daniel Reed’s perduring love for his beloved Charlene. Despite his constant struggle against poverty, financial betrayal by a friend, and the death of Charlene’s and Daniel’s baby, Ella, Daniel’s Job-like afflictions are compounded by Charlene’s diagnosis of “paranoid schizophrenic,” an affliction accompanied by delusions and eventual death. It is Daniel’s heroic witness to his vow to love Charlene “for richer or poorer, or worse…” that leads the reader to elevate this novel above so many others of inferior inspiration.” –James Likoudis, President Emeritus, Catholics United for the Faith (CUF)

“Love is never as heartrending as it seems. It’s worse. Love is never as heavenly as it seems. It’s greater. Thom Brucie, in Obsidian Mirth, reveals these honest truths about love, commitment, hardship, loss, and unendurable enduring hope with his finely-tuned instruments: his heart and his pen.” –James M. Wilson, Chair, Department of English, Flagler College, Retired

“With his absorbing new novel Obsidian Mirth, Thom Brucie traverses both the highs and lows of human relationships. In exacting and compelling prose, Brucie shows that love—true love—just might be the biggest personal challenge anyone can take on. But, at the same time, it is the source of our greatest comfort; and it endures past every obstacle, mortal or immortal. There are profound lessons imparted in this book. Yet it might be hard to pause and appreciate them all, because Brucie’s story is as wrenching as it is unstoppable, his plot a brilliant series of unexpected events, his characters as unforgettable as any you will encounter. This is a novel you can’t set down. Not for a second. But please do linger over it, because you will want to savor every delicious if agonizing moment and every one of the story’s many soulful truths.” —John Vanderslice, Professor of Creative Writing, University of Central Arkansas; his novels include: The Last Days of Oscar Wilde, Island Fog, and Nous Nous.

“In Thom Brucie’s novel, Obsidian Mirth, Daniel Reed’s wife develops adult-onset schizophrenia. Daniel’s personal perspective of this experience allows the reader to enter into the bewilderment of mental illness within a family, especially the difficult tensions between forgiveness and healing. It is a powerful story, and this book is going to help families not just to cope but also to heal.” –H. K. Morey, LCSW, Licensed Clinical Social Worker

“In this day and age of throw away marriages, Thom Brucie portrays a true love story. A man that remains faithful through all the turmoil and tragedy that life throws at him. A testament to true love and vows taken seriously; “What God has joined together, let no man separate.” It’s a sad yet wonderful story.” —Linda Blosser-Medley, author of A Sword Will Pierce

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Thom Brucie’s other works include the novels Children of Slate (En Route Books & Media, 2018), an exploration of God’s great joy in bringing miracles to this earthly journey we call life; Weapons of Cain, a Vietnam War tale of cultural discovery; a book of short stories, Still Waters: Five Stories, themed stories around the topic of death; and two chapbooks of poems, Moments Around The Campfire With A Vietnam Vet, poems of veteran’s experiences, and Apprentice Lessons, poems celebrating Brucie’s carpentry apprenticeship and some lessons learned. Dr. Brucie earned his PhD from Binghamton University and MA from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Brucie is Professor of English at South Georgia State College where he teaches English and Creative Writing. Find out more about Thom Brucie on his website at ThomBrucie.com. 

See Thom’s recent article entitled “Concerning Love” in Agape Review (August 23, 2021)

OTHER CATHOLIC LITERARY WORKS

Saynt Lachmi

A young street child named Lachmi is whisked into prostitution, rescued, and led by her spirit and providence through the use of her extraordinary gifts to the brink of sainthood. The body, she shows us, is a prism, revealing through its gradations the range between depravity and divinity. What the reader sees through Lachmi is a view of this prism through the side that reveals our divinity, that sees the body as a channel of grace in the manner in which St. John Paul II described in his Theology of the Body, a manner that sanctifies our sexuality, which we so often allow our lust to soil and obliterate.

Paperback: $19.95 | Kindle: $9.99

TESTIMONIALS

“Stunning!” – Dr. Sebastian Mahfood, OP, author of The Narrative Spirituality of Dante’s Divine Comedy

“The story of Lachmi is deeply provocative. She even develops intuitive and healing powers or ‘siddhis’ which is not uncommon on the road to spiritual development. A prostitute once sings a song for Swami Vivekananda by the great poet Surdas. The meaning of the song was that a man great in virtue should never fear anything in the world. Then, while in the US, Swami Vivekananda once said, ‘Do not frown at the sight of a prostitute. In fact, they are acting as a shield, safeguarding the chastity of virtuous women. Hence, we should not hate them but be grateful towards them.’ These words ring true as Lachmi moves in her circle of supporters filled with nuns and to-be-nuns, while being exploited by a dubious couple who finally meet their fateful end. It is a story about evil and the fabled victory of good over evil. Our Ultimate Reality is beyond both good and evil says Vedanta. And one final lesson from the book is that Godliness is within everyone’s grasp. As Thomas Aquinas says, ‘God is not just the ideal goal of human longing; it is the ideal possibility for human completeness.'” – Prabhakur Mundkur, Facebook Reviewer

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ivan Arthur is the author of seven previous books:

1. The Fourteen Stations (Official book on Pope John Paul’s visit to India)
2. Pavement Prayers. Theological fiction. A prequel to Saynt Lachmi
3. A Village Dies. A novel about social change
4. Once More Upon a Time. Biography
5. Jossie. A biography
6. Brands Under Fire
7. The Chef Executive Officer

Arthur was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Communication Arts Guild, Mumbai, and is a three-times recipient of the WPP Atticus Award for original writing. He lives in Goa, India, with Ingrid, his wife.

OTHER CATHOLIC LITERARY WORKS

The Squire’s Journey

This is a story of a journey, written to help young people deal with grief and loss. Every journey has a beginning. Every journey has a starting point, when a person’s life takes a turn and he starts on the path that will be his life for the rest of his time on this earth. Everyone’s life is a journey, but this particular journey – this particular story – is the life of a boy named Radbertus Corbie, who became an orphan, became a squire, became a knight, and became a child of God.

Paperback: $14.95  |  Kindle/Nook: $9.99

TESTIMONIALS

TBA

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

OTHER CATHOLIC LITERARY WORKS

The Guest of Night

Three teenagers are drawn into the hidden underside of Elizabethan England: a world where how you pray can get you hanged, and misplaced trust can kill.  Catholicism is forbidden in this world, and Catholics walk the line between faith and fear. Protestant Stephen distrusts treacherous Papists but values his friendship with Catholic Hugh; Hugh and Bridget resent Protestant tyranny but find themselves relying on Stephen’s help – and his silence.  All of them understand both less and more than their parents realize of the dangers hovering on the margins of their lives.  And this is the kind of volatile mix that can put nooses round necks.

Paperback: $19.95 / £14.59 | Kindle: $9.99 

TESTIMONIALS

“The Guest of Night is a thrilling tale filled with adrenaline, courage, and lessons in wisdom.  Read by the author herself, one is transported into Elizabethan England. Lucy Underwood-Healy’s narration is expressive, and draws the listener further into the story, to sympathize and admire all that our Catholic ancestors suffered for the sake of Christ, of truth, and of love.” -Thérèse Judeana, author of Ransom: Shadow of An Empire

“The book that took me by surprise was this belting Tudor thriller / rite of passage story . . . [The Guest of Night].” – Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Twitter

“Lucy Underwood Healy writes with impressive lucidity and authenticity. From the very beginning of The Guest of Night, we are immersed in a world of dangerous intrigue, rich historical detail and acute observation. She has created a cast of full-blooded characters whose story will absorb and engage us.” – Nick Warburton, Winner of the BBC/Radio Times Drama Award, the Sandford St Martin Award and the Tinniswood Award

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lucy Underwood-Healy grew up in Cambridge, England.  She received her BA in History and English from Oxford University, and completed postgraduate studies at Cambridge University.  The Guest of Night, her first novel, grew in symbiosis with her research into Elizabethan England and its religious conflicts.  A mother and scholar as well as a writer, she lives in St Albans, England with her husband and children.

OTHER CATHOLIC LITERARY WORKS

La Redención de San Isidro: Una historia de misericordia y amor

by Padre Lorenzo Eduardo Tucker, SOLT

TESTIMONIOS

PREGUNTAS DE ESTUDIO PARA ESTUDIANTES

Mientras leen esta novela, los estudiantes católicos pueden reflexionar sobre las siguientes preguntas para debatir. Tenga en cuenta que las siguientes son solo algunas de las preguntas que se abordan en esta intrigante historia llena de acción que tiene lugar en el misterioso y vasto desierto de Chihuahua, al norte de México. Los estudiantes sacarán a la luz a otros mientras, se involucran en el libro:

• Cuando el hombre hace un mal uso de su libre albedrío y ocasiona graves daños al mundo que lo rodea, ¿responde Dios de otra manera que no sea el ejercicio de su voluntad permisiva?
• ¿No es Dios también libre de ejercer su amor en el mundo?
• ¿Es Dios pasivo ante las debilidades y sufrimientos de sus hijos?
• ¿Dios simplemente se sienta y ve al mundo “irse por un tubo” mientras su creación… la humanidad… contamina el medio ambiente humano y, en consecuencia, el medio ambiente natural al abrazar el mal moral?
• La libertad humana, y el respeto de Dios por esa libertad, es un reflejo de la gran profundidad y autenticidad del amor de Dios por sus hijos. Entonces, ¿por qué el hombre actúa como si estuviera “solo”?
• ¿Puede… debería… “hacerlo solo” para resolver el quebrantamiento dentro de sí mismo, el entorno humano y el entorno natural?
• ¿Hay alguna esperanza para el hombre y el mundo?

“Alzo mis ojos a las colinas, de donde vendrá mi ayuda. ¡Mi ayuda viene del Señor que hizo el cielo y la tierra! ” (Salmo 121 1-2)

Sobre el Autor

Padre Tucker nació el 26 de Mayo de 1955 en Manhattan, Nueva York. Es un sacerdote misionero bilingüe de la Sociedad de Nuestra Señora de la Santísima Trinidad y ha servido en México, Belize, Guatemala, Inglaterra, Texas y Nueva York.

Padre Tucker cuenta con un diplomado en los Artes Liberales de Colegio Comunitario de Nassau, Garden City, New York, una licenciatura en Relaciones Humanas de St Joseph’s College, Patchogue, New York, y una Maestría en Divinidad y también en Teología del Seminario de los Santos Apóstoles, Cromwell, CT.