Say Not What If by Andrew Friedman

Say Not What If

By: Andrew Friedman

Buy it at: Amazon or Create Space

Source: Review copy from author

Synopsis from Amazon: “Say Not What If” is a short story about a man on death row. The story is written as a long rhyming poem, and its primary theme is that time is our most valuable commodity. As someone once said, “waste anything but time, because we really are promised no tomorrows.” This theme is explored through the life of the protagonist, a man who sacrifices his marriage and everything else for his career. He realizes much too late the terrible consequences of this decision, and then desperately tries to regain those lost years by making a much worse choice. The resolution of this latter choice involves an additional examination of the concepts of accountability and responsibility, redemption, and the morality of the death penalty. The story recognizes that regardless of the reason, feelings of regret and even bitterness for the loss of time are understandable. That is simply human nature. Time is a unique commodity that can never be recovered, regained, or replaced. It exists once and then never again. But excessive regret or bitterness about the loss of time simply magnifies the problem by ruining whatever time we have left. Life is about living. Dwelling on losses of any kind interferes with and can even destroy that purpose. Time moves forward and so must we. I myself have struggled with this dilemma. The story is a product of my own experiences. I lost a considerable amount of time because I grew up with a violent drunk, and then spent many years as the sole caregiver for two terminally ill parents. The story is therefore a reflection of my own struggles with this dilemma, and an attempt to provide an answer for me and anyone else in a similar situation. I have never seen or read an entire story written as a rhyming poem, let alone one that is nearly 10,000 words. The structure of the story is therefore unique, or at least extremely unusual. My hope is that this will help make the story worth reading, and you can in fact read the first five pages of it for free on my website, www.ascensionenterprise.com. But my greatest hope is that if you are experiencing a similar struggle about the loss of time or anything else, that the story provides you with some answers and some solace. We all occasionally need someone to show us a way out of our own darkness. Merely writing the story has been a light and a beacon for me. I hope it will be for you as well. Best wishes.

About the Author: Andrew Friedman is an attorney and business consultant specializing unemployment insurance and workers' compensation. He also spent more than twelve years as the sole adult caregiver for two terminally ill parents, and grew up with a violent drunk. These experiences made him realize that nothing is more important or valuable than time.
His first story "Say Not What If" explores this theme through the life of a man who sacrifices his marriage and everything else for his career. The story concludes that dwelling on lost time simply compounds the loss by causing us to miss out on even more of what life has to offer. The entire story is written as a rhyming poem, and is nearly 10,000 words long. The story is nonetheless easily read and understood by anyone, regardless of their educational background and profession. The first few pages are available for free as a sample from Kindle Publishing, and can also be read on my website www.ascensionenterprise.com.
Best wishes, and remember the old adage that we should "waste anything but time, because we really are promised no tomorrows."

My Review: Andrew Friedman sent me a request to review this book. I wasn't overly thrilled about reading a 10,000 word poem as I am not really into poetry. (yeah yeah I know I have a published poem that doesn't mean I want to read poetry ALL the time!) Although, somehow I knew that the book would be great! I mean if this guy can write a POEM 10,000 words long, he must be a master with words! Right?

Anyways, as you know you should NEVER judge a book by it's cover. You have to admit that you do sometimes though! As do I. I never would have picked up an orange book with only the title on the cover on my own. Sad I know. But very true.

I am so glad that Andrew asked me to review this short story! It was utterly breathtaking. Not only did he do an amazing job keeping with the rythme, he also told a fabulous story and brought TEARS to my eyes more than once. This story truly touched my heart and I honestly agree that time should not be treated like a four letter word.

If you would like to enter to win a copy of this book from the author please fill out the form below. Only rule is you have to be a blog follower. This story is something that I believe everyone will enjoy.