About the author (Taken from Creating The Best)
Dr. Jerry’s life has been as interesting as it has been varied. He has a Ph.D. in Human Learning and has worked in Schools, Mental Health Organizations, and as a Forensic Psychologist for the Department of Corrections. Besides providing treatment, he has trained other people in how to best help those in need. His techniques and approaches have been presented in print by news media and on national television.
Dr. Jerry will say his life experiences are equally important, bringing him to this point in time. He has skydived more than 1400 times, has 3,000 hours of flying airplanes and helicopters, scuba dives, repels, and is an avid motorcycle rider. Dr. Jerry trains horses, riding them in the Midwest , as well as the desert Southwest.
Relationships have been important for this lifetime. He has been married several times and “in love” with many more, as he has learned the power of connections in this life’s journey. Dr. Jerry has said, with a smile, "I have been in relationship school."
“We create our own universe,” Dr. Jerry says. “Our thoughts about ourselves, relationships, and life in general begin by the things we say and think, every moment of our life. These thoughts provide the structure for our reality and are powered by the emotions we feel. The people who are in our life have been drawn there by the pictures and thoughts we create.”
Dr. Jerry wants us to understand this concept of life and use it to shape the future we want. He writes a fictionalized account of his own struggle to learn these lessons in Desert Journey, available on this website.
About the Novel (Taken from Creating The Best)
Part of me knew I was dreaming, but that didn't take away from the intensity. I was on the cliff, standing next to Tom. He looked over at me and smiled, "Are you ready? Can you do it this time?"
I had this dream before, and it was just as real this time. I had been on this same cliff and leapt off, following Tom's lead. After rising briefly into the sky, I plummeted to what I was sure was the death of the body I was wearing.
There I was again, back on the same cliff, fear radiating through me. I heard myself reply, "Tom...I don't think I can do this. Last time I fell. What happens if I don't make it?"
"You just have to believe," he said, as if he stated an obvious fact; and with that, leapt into the air to ascend into the heavens. I watched his departing figure grow smaller as Tom rose into the sky.
I stepped up to the edge; anxious to travel with him to what I was sure were higher worlds. I bent my knees preparing to jump....
from Return to the Desert.
I had this dream before, and it was just as real this time. I had been on this same cliff and leapt off, following Tom's lead. After rising briefly into the sky, I plummeted to what I was sure was the death of the body I was wearing.
There I was again, back on the same cliff, fear radiating through me. I heard myself reply, "Tom...I don't think I can do this. Last time I fell. What happens if I don't make it?"
"You just have to believe," he said, as if he stated an obvious fact; and with that, leapt into the air to ascend into the heavens. I watched his departing figure grow smaller as Tom rose into the sky.
I stepped up to the edge; anxious to travel with him to what I was sure were higher worlds. I bent my knees preparing to jump....
from Return to the Desert.
My Review
After reading, A Desert Journey, I was intrigued; I realized
that I had much to learn about life, and how to really live it. As I followed
Jerry in his journey, it became clear that there was an underlying message
about it all. It was a read that I just couldn’t put down once I finally got
into it. So when I began reading Return to the Desert, I truly expected nothing
less than phenomenal. It was admirable that this journey was based on Jerry’s
relationships, as he seeks to gain sympathy, he learns a new way of thinking
and discovery. Jerry shares his inner thoughts with his readers, which I really
related to, the questions one has in the mind can really lead to some powerful
revelations. Reflection can trigger some great findings and understanding.
An excerpt that reminded me of the questioning, confusion, uncertainty,
which I’m sure we’ve all been and went through, relationships are a challenge,
aren’t they?
…. I took a deep breath, inhaling the clean air that filled
me with a sense of relaxation and contentment. The sun soaked my back with a
warmth that made me want to scoot down off my seat and close my eyes. Looking
up at the sun, I saw I didn’t even have the time for a short nap unless I
wanted to walk back to camp in the dark…
So peaceful, I thought. Just as quickly as that thought
entered, it was replaced with Jenna’s face with her long, dark hair cascading
down as she laughed. I felt the pangs of regret that started in my stomach,
their icy fingers reaching up to my heart. Why are these feelings coming back
now? I shook my head, destroying the vision and replacing it by looking up into
the cerulean blue sky of the desert mountain. Could it be that I’m not really
over her?
I thought I was through with these feelings, I told myself.
I know I haven’t totally figured out what the lesson is, but it is time to go
on. Why does she keep coming back? There must be something really important I’m
missing. Standing quickly, I shouted to myself, “Enough!”….
Tell me have you considered this question before?
“Could it be some
people were meant to spend a lifetime together, and there were those who were
meant to only share a brief moment in time?” Does that not remind you of
the saying… Everyone serves a purpose in your life, some stay for a season and
some last a lifetime, it is up to you to know when it is time to let go. Gosh,
as I’m reading Jerry question relationships, I’m wishing that I could be there
with him, answering him with the knowledge that I do know, or that I think I
know. This novel was not just a novel that I could learn something from, it was a novel that I could relate to as well.
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Thank you for your thoughtful comment ~ Rose