NATIVE SOULMATE

A quest for a soul mate gone awry.  

As Zack (What Cheer: A Love Story, 2010) traveled the Hawkeye State giving lectures and readings, he investigated the possibility that the girl next door might actually be the girl of his dreams. Although slow-moving and often arduous, Jack’s tale is occasionally engaging due to the depth of his honesty and self-reflection. His confessions can be cringe-inducing in their familiarity, but the author’s premonitions often came true as he fumbled from one speaking engagement to the next, buoyed by self-induced misfortune. On the rare occasions that Jack did find a woman who fit the parameters of his search, he often overthought and then sabotaged the possibility. Whatever good will the author might have earned from readers, he casts aside as his actions become increasingly irritating and his intentions unknowable. When he finally found his heartland babe, he pushed her away by being overly-aggressive and needy. Sadly, readers will relate more to the object of his affection than the author himself.

Brings the reader into the author’s emotional corn maze but doesn’t lead them out.