Three Fifths
by John Allen Machado
This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
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Pub Date Nov 12 2015 | Archive Date Jul 08 2018
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Description
What would you do if death came knocking at your door? And how would you carry on if your life was instantly turned upside down?
Johnny Silva, a recovering alcoholic and addict, sets off on a weekend getaway from Pismo Beach to the foothills of Northern California. Upon his arrival in the small town of Pioneer, he’s thrust into an encounter with a worn down homeless man, an encounter that forces him to look back at his rocky past as he listens to a tale of woe about a life suddenly launched in a tragic direction.
Advance Praise
I loved this Novella by John Allen Machado! It was raw, emotional and honest. I really appreciated the authors ability to be vulnerable as he takes you on a journey of life with tragedies, triumphs and the relationships along the way. A must read!!
Featured Reviews
Richard L, Reviewer
What a powerful story; told with openness and imparting so much love and wonderment in life and the lives of family and friends.
Just a short, well crafted novella it tells the story of a man who continues to fight a previous addiction to booze and drugs. The AA support sessions he regularly attends are so much easier to maintain with the support of friends both firm and loyal. It is when he needs to step outside his routine that he feels isolated and more vulnerable.
However, it is on one such trip outside his comfort zone that he ends up buying 3 bottles of spirits. A decision that will change his life and allow him to see values and appreciate aspects within humanity like kindness.
I love the pace of the writing. The care and positive choice of words in the telling of this wonderful story. I love the positive dimensions of a world you engage with and perceive with non judgemental senses. An uplifting account which would have no resonance unless you identify yourself as those who do not get involved in the seedier aspects of life. We rarely help others without looking for some reward or bragging about it. We give often to receive and seldom with altruism as our motivation.
This beautiful tale reaffirms our humanity at its best where there is little room for self praise, justification or your right to help, justice and life.
Perhaps the worst condition is a unforgiving heart but maybe the experience of others and the shared kindnesses of words in action can address some of difficulties we endure and enlighten us to those we take for granted.
A real gem of a book with profound messages not preached but encompassed within a story of characters we rarely have empathy for but are perhaps a reflection of the people we should be.
When you can do a good thing in secret, keep quiet rather than expect better and preferential treatment and set aside the mantle of status and dress in humility you may just find yourself.
Cristie U, Book Trade Professional
Wow! The author's raw honesty made this book one that was hard to not finish in one sitting! I love reading books where the author shows their vulnerable side, as I feel that makes them more relatable to the reader. The relationships in this book were written about in a way that was honest, which I admired. It is hard to write about a relationship knowing that many people are going to read and judge it.
