The Misadventures of Jack Chesterfield by Weston Kathman

A roller coaster saga of manias, depressions, drunk driving arrests, romantic disasters, a trip to the psych ward, and rehab. Contrarian author Jack Chesterfield knows that his worst enemy has always been himself. Following several catastrophes, he moves from his native Kentucky to the recovery community of Delray Beach, Florida, where he befriends troubled souls whose self-destructive tendencies may exceed his own. While working on his first novel, he conceives a second: “The Misadventures of Lambert Lukas” — a fictionalized account of his past and present debacles. He thereby creates a double “reality” in which everyone around him is a character in his future project. Along the way, he attempts to court his next door neighbor, an alluring pill-popper beautifully self-described as “not a nice girl.” His dramatic pratfalls are many and his modest triumphs are few. Still, Chesterfield perseveres — if for no other reason than to live a story worth telling.