How does a life go so awry that a bright and generous upbringing turns to thoughts of slamming a nine-millimeter Luger bullet through one's temporal lobe? That's the fulcrum War Baby twists upon, as a hopeful upbringing goes off the tracks to an insane slow slog into active alcoholism, the Luger always lurking just outside life's stage-lights. The book grew out of more than 30 years of personal journaling. But the result is not just some "journaling adventure." It sticks with the guts of the near-death experience active alcoholism can bring to a life - mine. With drama, humor, and pathos, my life is redeemed in a true story told for those who are seekers of what Dante described in the first canto of The Divine Comedy, Inferno, "the path that does not stray." Yet the book's three broad themes - the dark of a personal bottom, the light of a stable childhood, and a denouement of crazy experiences - lead not to some Pollyannaish "new life." Rather, with humor offsetting more than a few living nightmares - War Baby follows an unexpected and challenging path of recovery, and how it looks after a nearly 40-year sojourn. The story plays out scenically, and it should not surprise that I dedicate it to "The Seekers," those who would follow "the path," their families, friends, and many others who will be perhaps surprised by the wisdom that can be found along the way. Many seek but not all find the way to recovery; but to those who do seek, it is to them I write in the hope that they will hear what I heard and see what I saw.
About the Author: Dougald L. "Doug" Blue III started writing when he was about eight with a biography of Alexander the Great, researched and borderline-plagiarized from National Geographic magazine and a book his dad gave him. At twelve, he wrote, set type and printed his own neighborhood newspaper, making a killing at five cents a copy. His adult career began as a copyboy, intern, and city-desk reporter for the Richmond Times-Dispatch during the golden years of newspapers. That was followed by some 35 years in corporate communications, and then the inevitable "self-employment," today working as a writer, editor, and publicist. He is an alumnus of Hampden-Sydney College where good writing is a valued achievement, as well as a necessity. A native of Richmond, he lives in nearby Ashland, Virginia.