THE JOURNEY OF SIMON MCKEEVER

This is a tender little book, with an odd charm. But it wont be easy to sell. Only rarely (Mr. Chips the outstanding example) does the public take to its heart a book about old age. And Simon McKeever is old- pushing 74, crippled by arthritis, living a dolefully uneventful life in a Home run by Mr. Finney, who took the old men's pensions and allowed them no pocket money, no sense of independence. But when McKeever hears of a women doctor some 300 odd miles away in Glendale, he determines to try this one last chance to defeat his arthritis, to win back his independence. This is the story of his journey, a painful, at times a heartbreaking one, of hopes dashed, faith betrayed, and-now and again- high spots of faith restored. And then the doctor, hardly won, destroys his dream; at his age, the arthritis he suffers from is incurable. But McKeever has gained something of permanent value from his journey, a spiritual as well as physical journey. He returns to the Home, courage high, he wins some rights for himself- and others- from Finney. And he determines that one dream is to be realized, he is going to bring into form the book he has envisioned, a book that will help others on the road of life. There's pathos and humor here. But it is a book that needs word of mouth salesmanship.