Edward Mark "Tedy" Merrill grows up in the deep South surrounded by friends, bicycles, and baseball cards. A series of troubling and defining events throughout his life lead him to the field of medicine, where he eventually settles into a lucrative position as a top plastic surgeon.
But after becoming terribly disillusioned with the state of the health care system in the United States, he and his brilliant wife move to Paris, France, where they develop a lucrative Internet company based on what has become of the decimated American medical system.
When Tedy meets the son of a former career diplomat, he and his wife are introduced to the violent world of the Russian Mafia. Tedy becomes deeply entangled in a dark underworld-ripped away from his medical roots and immersed in a dark, evil side of his psyche. As Tedy's involvement with the Russians deepens, they become more persistent, dedicated-and dangerous. He must find a way out. Or end up dead.
A powerful psychological thriller, Perception as Reality: The Life and Times of Tedy Merrill is a sobering look at a life's accumulation of experiences-and their devastating consequences.
About the Author: Dr. Paul Howard was born and raised in the South and received his MD from the University of Alabama in Birmingham.
Currently a board-certified plastic surgeon practicing in Birmingham, Alabama, he trained in general surgery at the University of Alabama Hospitals and in plastic surgery at the University of Miami as well as in Paris, France.
The author of numerous blogs regarding plastic surgical training and procedures, he has contributed a number of historical pieces to medical journals as well as political reporting regarding medical issues affecting the practice of medicine today.
Perception as Reality: The Life and Times of Tedy Merrill is his first novel.
