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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN num: 9781844017003
ISBN number: 1844017001
Label: Athena Press Publishing Co. UK
Manufacturer: Athena Press Publishing Co. UK
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 184
Printing Date: September 17, 2007
Publishing house: Athena Press Publishing Co. UK
Sale Popularity Level: 4269413
Studio: Athena Press Publishing Co. UK
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Product Description:
The French have a saying: Il faut cultiver son jardin. The English have a slightly different approach: You have to develop your talents. After years of loyal service to the Treasury department of a busy City corporation, Chris Bower's narrator is forced out of the rat race after an unexpected heart attack. Following bypass surgery, he is told to take 'gardening leave', with a nice pay-off to look forward to. And nothing else. Disheartened, he and his lovely wife, Sally, are left to pick up the pieces. Tired of moping, he eventually turns to painting and decides to develop his talent, which garners the interest of a Parisian art dealer and a new and exciting enterprise. Full of pathos and imbued with humour, this is a portrait of Executive Man coming out of the jungle and wielding not a club but paint brushes. Can he make the change? More to the point, can he and Sally adapt to build a happy, secure life while in pursuit of a dream?
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How often have you wished you could start fresh; have a new life? We all have at some point in our lives. This is a story of a forced start over. Unlike a straight redundancy "gardening leave" is a quaint English expression that takes being laid off to a new level. As a Department Manager in a large Financial Establishment Bower's narrator is told to take six months gardening leave meaning he is on call if they should ever need him but they are not going to pay his salary except as a lump sum settlement at the end of the rest period. As a Manager he gets to keep the perks of the job, the company car for instance until the final severance.
Bower's book is written in the very first person narration making it feel autobiographical and so we share in the recovery from the heart attack, the despair of being unemployed, the joy of discovering a lost hobby that becomes a salvation and the road to recovery. We laugh at the transition from Mercedes to Mini and feel the elation of new found love, even if it is with the wife he has had for years, his triumphs and sense of dignity as he gets a fresh start, whether he wants it or not.
From the seaside town of Brighton to the streets of Paris we too learn what is like to give the finger to the powers that be and learn that there is sanctity in self indulgence and thinking outside the box. This is a must read for all of us that only dream of starting over.
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