Three of the four central characters of The Third Reading are heirs to an immense fortune. However, they discover that their benefactor has divided the reading of his last will and testament into three sections, each to be read one month apart. Should any of them miss a reading, their share is to bedivided between those that remain.
You do remember Janice Macauly, the most oft-quoted psychoanalyst of the eighties and the fiance of the deceased? But it wasnt always so. You see, although brilliant, she found it next to impossible to become a member of the male-dominated club of those times. Disillusioned by their chauvinism, she authored what was to become a best seller entitled Head The Male Ego. As if that wasnt enough, she also agreed to an expos on Head for Playboy Magazine, which was accompanied by a full nude centerfold!
Thats the end of that boisterous bitch, the club prophesied.
Jan was then, and remains to this day, a stunningly beautiful woman, and she went on to take Playmate of the Year honors. Her career was launched.
Brian, the newly departed, had inherited several hundred millions of dollars, then through shrewd and barely legal means had soon finagled his way into a billion. He would have gone on destroying careers and devouring the competition had he not met someone who transformed him from a complete parasite into an environmentalist and philanthropist to worthy causes worldwide. That someone was his brother, Robert, who had vanished sometwo decades earlier. Those years had been spent in India, Africa, the Far East, Central America, and among Native American Indians delving into the metaphysical and spiritual aspects of life.
Then there is Doc, Jans counterpart, who himself was well renowned in analytical circles, but for reasons far different than she. He had become famous in Hollywood, seemingly overnight, by way of a colossal misunderstanding. An athletic six-foot-two and bearing a striking resemblance to the cowboys of old, he became the therapist to see in Glitter City. Everyone who was anyone had to have Doc as their shrink. Unfortunately, he hadnt a clue as to what in the hell he was talking about! However, that shortcoming did little to slow the stampede of the rich and famous who clung to his every word.
The Third Reading revolves around the lives of these three during the course of one year in which they become intimately intertwined. Along the way you will meet a dozen or so of Docs patients, including the world-renowned attorney who built his fame and fortune defending the rights and privilege of white supremacists around the country. J. W. BrownIII never lost a case. He was the master of ceremonies at every convention from LA to New York. The fact that he was black made little difference to John Brown. All he cared about was the green.
Make no mistake, this tale goes far beyond psychiatry, metaphysics, and sex. Among many other subjects, it introduces us to an original and scientifically plausible sister theory to reincarnation. The Third Reading also tackles the question of humankind throughout recorded and prerecorded history:
Who or what is God? Moreover, where do we fit into The Plan?
