By Thomas D. Sedgwick
CreateSpace, $12.95, 147 pages
Most of us have questioned reality, truth and our purpose. The meaning of life and questions about good, evil, and God has been a rite of passage for the people of yesterday, today and will be for tomorrow. In the 1960’s, hardcore drugs often aided these questions and their answers by American youth. In Ten Dreams from Heaven, by Thomas D. Sedgwick, the reader follows Tad along his path of discovery.
Valedictorian of his high school, Tad decides to turn his summer before college into a quest for the truth by dropping acid on a nearly daily basis. A self-described outsider, Tad is unimpressed by the ultra-manicured and orderly world of his home in the aptly named Paradise Village of Southern California. Sedgwick creates a world where everyone has a role to play on the stage of life, and these masterly crafted caricatures cause even the reader to question reality.
Written with a believable voice and brilliant imagery, Tad’s acid ridden summer comes across as more nonfiction as opposed to fiction. While tackling the tough subjects of right and wrong and good and bad, Sedgwick has created an accessible and quick read. Sedgwick also manages to easily lead the reader into the mind of a teenager on the brink of adulthood. Tad takes a journey in which he ultimately finds truth and a connection to the world, and Sedgwick portrays his journey of self-discovery with ease. A slim book, Ten Dreams from Heaven will delight philosophy and fiction lovers.
The reader first meets Tad as an alienated and smart incoming freshman at the start of his summer. By the end of summer, Tad develops something akin to wisdom. This book is a trip in and of itself, making it a must and exhilarating read.
Reviewed by Kristin Urban
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