John E. Shephard Jr.

Cottage Lake Soliloquy John E. Shephard Jr.

Cottage Lake Soliloquy is a guide to spiritual enlightenment in the form of a novel. It is primarily a tale of transformation about a year in the lives of two people, husband and wife, as they confront personal and professional challenges with their children on a lake in the woods in the small town of Forestville. The narrative unfolds through alternating chapters on each protagonist while weaving their stories together. Jay, a psychotherapist, and Bea, the head of a Student-Exchange company, encounter Leroy, part psychic part teacher, who guides them on a journey of self-realization through a series of dialogues by using their problems as opportunities for growth. Elements of the story include intense and insightful therapy sessions, lush and lyrical descriptions of nature, travel to foreign lands, alcohol and drug use, romance, intrigue, deception and betrayal. A handbook to awakening, the saga intertwines poetry, songs, quotations, essays and stream of consciousness thought in a unique and engrossing style of epic proportions while leading the reader towards his or her own spiritual awareness.