From the minute I picked up Reality Shmeality, I felt a deep sense of connection with Flower. The curiously-named main character of this book weaves together a beautiful tale of curiosity, creativity, heartache, failure, triumph, and endless possibilities. From cold upstate New York to the sweltering Tanzanian summer heat, you'll join Flower on his quest to find himself and find his potential.
Following Flower's relationship with his mother recalls striking memories of my own mother. Similarly to Flower, I grew up with a kind, progressive, compassionate mother who provided me with just the right balance of independence and protection. One of the most important lessons my mother taught me was to protect the most vulnerable. To advocate for those in need. Like the stray cats who we would find homes for or the deer who we would protest the hunting of. My mother's compassion for animals led me to become the person I am today. Her lessons and wisdom put me on a path that led to me becoming a vegan animal advocate in 2009 to pursuing and creating a full-time career in animal advocacy a few years later.
Throughout Reality Schmeality, the lessons Flower gleans from his relationship simply jump off the pages with the many choices he has to face as a young man learning his craft and eventually leaving his comfortable, warm nest and entering the big, imposing world.
A boasting, loud, selfish individual Flower is not. His compassion, empathy, and vulnerability are manifested so beautifully. These deep-seated traits drive his decisions throughout the story leading to many memorable encounters, from a chance meeting with a curious traveler in Amsterdam to witnessing mob justice first hand in Tanzania. His compassionate nature leads to opportunities he never could've expected. The empathy he feels empowers him to make choices that galvanize and inspire others. Flower's vulnerability helps explore and forge relationships that will last a lifetime. The reader will have their feet thoroughly planted in Flower's shoes as he goes from child to teen to young adult. From dreaming of achieving things to actually achieving his dreams.
Lust and passion for life's adventures and experiences are feelings that most of us possess, yet few of us act upon. Reality Schmeality allows us to experience those adventures by merely flipping from page to page.
Walking away from this book will leave you yearning for what's next. Flower's perspective of the world will allow you to not just learn from his experiences, but to also engage in relationships he engages in, from bullies in high school to farmers in Africa. Wisdom is to be gained from his successes and failures. Reality Schmeality is a guidebook to living with the cards you're dealt with and making the absolute most out of it, both for yourself and for those who you will have an impact on.
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Reality Shmeality
General FictionFlower's time in high school was spent being bullied by his peers and painting in his basement studio. Creating was his escape. The studio was a safe place for the quiet, androgynous vegan boy who feared walking down the hallway. When a comic he cre...
