Flotsam: A Life in Debris

"Flotsam" presents a vibrant perspective on the central, shaping social and human themes that we all face every day, when we have the time to think about them. Strength. Heroism. Family. Challenge. Faith. Love. Happiness. Squirrels. Using a dozen odd trinkets and life-mementoes that clutter his desk top, veteran journalist Denis Horgan speaks from a rich career of ground-level experience to so many of the core lessons that life teaches over time. The souvenirs of real world happenings are varied: a stone, scraps of paper, a bit of plastic, a rubber ducky, strawberry-flavored condoms. Each kindles storytelling of the highest quality: of war, joy, children, illness and recovery, the madness of the modern workplace, the loveliness of life itself. Serious, funny, touching, sensitive, penetrating, wise, consistently positive, sophisticated and uplifting, the essays find the mountain in the pebble. Each resonates with the complexities, tests and spirit of daily existence today. "Flotsam" ranges from the plains of Burma through the office places of Washington and Hartford to deep into the heart and hearth where the truly greatest stories dwell. Told in anecdotes and lessons from a long career and rich human journey, the messages reflected in these stories are vibrant, telling -- and universal.