Synopsis:
From Nine Eleven 2001 through the sixty days that follow, Daytona Beach, corrupt local government, and an ill-conceived Vietnam theme park provide backdrop as two lost souls living on opposite coasts struggle with survivor's guilt.
Gavin Dobbs is a PTSD Vietnam vet who has spent 30 years in self-imposed seclusion. Meg McLaughlin, land use attorney in town for a client, is a Nine Eleven survivor who was also damaged by a Vietnam War that claimed her highschool sweetheart.
She connects with Dobbs over four days before her return to San Fransisco, as they discover reciprocal powers to heal each other and find redemption.
Haunting dreams, corporate scandals, approaching wildfires, the loss of his minimum wage job and apartment sanctuary lead Dobbs to reconsider his isolation. Should an unemployed theme park ticket-taker embark on a cross-country journey to re-connect with Meg?
Nam World exposes Nine Eleven as the connecting point between our Vietnam past and twenty years of Mideast conflicts in the current century. History repeats itself in this examination of two mental casualties still suffering post-traumatic stress from a life-shattering overseas ground war.
Testimonials:
2012 Florida Writers Association Royal Palm Awards
3rd Place, Mainstream Literary
“This work is creative and unique, and the author’s techniques are quite effective, a different approach.” —judge’s comment
2015 Writer’s-Editors Network International Unpublished Chapter Competition, 1st Place (Chapter One) “Depth of characters, story action, and insightful narration mark the beginnings of this important novel.” Description from “Meet Our Contest Winners,” 6-1-15
“This book made me laugh and made me cry. A compelling survivor’s story made me believe these characters are real, observing the returning war veteran with wonderful understanding.” —Sue Parkerson
"The mix of small town ‘good ole boy’ politics, sex, and the detailed characters made for a thrilling and ‘what will happen next’ intriguing read. Knowing Daytona Beach made it all so interesting and real. I couldn’t put it down, even on vacation, had to get to the next page to see what was happening with the characters. I could see each, as in a movie. Jeff is a master of word usage. Very enjoyable! "—song stylist Lorale Mullins
Excerpt from“Nam World”:
“…He hoped the buildings knocked down by passenger planes were part of the same bad dream, wishing he could hit a rewind button and turn back the clock, resurrect all the lost lives from terror attacks that had not really happened. But he knew they had. This new Ground Zero dream had displaced the thirty-year nightmare of his death, a vision leaving him trussed and tagged in body bag darkness. On a thousand other nights he’d awakened thrashing and screaming, his brain programmed by some permanent trauma. Other men had returned from the war, lost their battles with dreams and demons and committed suicide. Retreating, taking cover, keeping stress to a minimum, Gavin Dobbs had survived. He saw lights on in Miss Davis’ house. It was past six, the hour when she fed Blackie and began her chores. The dawn of a new day celebrated life as if the preceding day of death had never occurred. But national mourning had already begun. A reckoning was due. Someone would pay. After the dead and presumed dead were counted, consequences would be prescribed, imposed, and suffered. Killing required more killing. War created war.”
Acknowledgements:
Heartfelt thanks to Jerry Rosamilia and Dennis Sines for their service to our country and their help with this book.
