The fifth book I wrote, Memories of Jake, dealt with two brothers who served in Vietnam in the late 1960s-early 1970s, and the impact their service had on them and their families. Andrew, the older by two years, an artist and musician, enlisted from a sense of duty after his first year of college. His rakish younger brother Jacob, an athlete and ladies’ man, enlisted immediately after high school from a desire for adventure.
During Jake’s time in Vietnam,
where he served as a Green Beret, a helicopter crash resulted in severe
retrograde amnesia. He could remember a great deal about the world, but almost
nothing of his past life other than a few early childhood memories. Such a
memory loss meant he could not continue with what he had hoped for, a career in
the military.
Eventually, Jake left home and
lost all contact with his family for nearly two decades. His disappearance
resulted in Andrew being hospitalized and treated for deep-seated mental and
emotional problems. However, with good care and the love of his family, he
recovered, but he never stopped wondering where Jake could be.
While writing Memories of Jake
from Andrew’s POV, just for fun I wrote a short chapter in first person of a
romantic tryst Jake had with Andrew’s college art teacher who found him
attractive and charming. I shared it with Ashleigh Evans, my editor, and she
loved it and thought I should include it in the book. We added a few such first
person moments. Since Andrew was an artist, they are termed “Sketches” in the
book.
When I reached the point of
Jacob’s disappearance it became apparent to me I couldn’t finish Memories of
Jake until I knew exactly what had happened to him. So, time out from one
book while I wrote a fairly detailed outline of where Jake had been during
those years. Readers of Memories of Jake often commented on how real a
character Jake had become to them, and I knew then that I needed to tell Jake’s
story in a second book.
Only, I let Jake tell his story
in the first person. In Man with No Yesterdays, this great-grandmother
attempted a novel by a young warrior. Except, of course, at that point Jake was
no longer a warrior…and didn’t know who he now was. It became undoubtedly the
greatest challenge I had set myself, and it took time and effort, but it
resulted in a book many people have read and appreciated.
Jake’s memories from Vietnam were
never recovered, but he met other vets, one of whom had served with him, and he
told Jake about some of their experiences. The book required a great deal of
research because Jake traveled from his home town in Pennsylvania, first south,
then across the continent, and eventually into Canada. He met many people on
his odyssey, and this author journeyed with him while learning a great deal.
My talented editor, Ashleigh, also
an artist, painted a portrait of Jake as I had envisioned him. It later became
the image on the book’s cover and the original painting hangs next to my
computer. More than most characters, Jake is an integral part of my life.
If you read and enjoyed “The Cameron Saga,” you’ll appreciate my upcoming release, And This Shall Be for Music. The protagonist, Lindsey Cameron, is Andrew’s daughter, a talented, aspiring opera singer who learns how quickly our life can change.
Memories of Jake and Man with No Yesterdays can be found on Amazon
on my author page
https://www.amazon.com/Susan-Moore-Jordan/e/B00IBZ731U%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share
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