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Jesse S. Hanson

Jesse S. Hanson

About

I am a North Dakota (rural Midwest USA) native, writer/musician, currently living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. I've also lived for a considerable time in the Pacific Northwest (USA) and briefly in the Southwest (USA). So I suppose restlessness is a part of my nature. I'm never quite at home anywhere in the world. And that is part of why spirituality is the focus of all my writing. My novel, "Song of George/Portrait of an Unlikely Holy Man" was published with All Things That Matter Press in July, 2010. I am very happy to be working with this publisher and to be included among their many fine authors. Personally, I have no credentials, other than life itself, which I've noticed, has a certain poetic intensity. Anyway I write, I always have. My wife, Lilasuka (pronounced Leelashooka) and I are part-time performing folk/rock musicians in the greater Pittsburgh and West Virginia Panhandle area. Our band, The Primatives, for which I am the songwriter and guitar player, has two CD's: "The Lovers of Kali Yuga" and "Primitive Spirit". You can check out some of our music at www.myspace.com/theprimativesrock

A Penny for Your Thoughts

A Penny for Your Thoughts

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<p>Have you ever loved, been loved, been confused about love, or suffered from loss of love? All these feelings have been captured and shared in the words of heartfelt poems, compiled over many years by a former teacher and award-winning author.</p><p>Sherrill S. Cannon now shares her thoughts in this book of feelings. &quot;As a teacher, I used poetry to help counsel many troubled teens and friends, and have continued this pattern throughout the years.&quot;</p><p>There are three sections in her book: Heads, Spinning, and Tails ... (Love &amp; Loss: Coin Toss?). The variety of lyrical poetry forms include free verse, blank verse, haiku, and sonnets. Some poems are simply plays on words.</p><p><strong>A Sign</strong></p><p>In the depths of my winter</p><p>I heard a small bird -</p><p>Braving the cold,</p><p>Bringing the word.</p><p>He gave my heart hope</p><p>As I heard him sing -</p><p>Three little notes</p><p>Promising spring.</p><p>Sherrill S. Cannon, a former teacher and grandmother of 10, is the author of nine acclaimed rhymed children's stories that have received 48 national and international book awards between 2011 and 2017. Also a playwright with seven published plays for elementary school children, her works have been performed internationally in over 20 countries. Most of her children's books try to teach something, such as good manners and caring for others. Married for 57 years, she and her spouse are now retired, live in Pennsylvania, and travel in their RV from coast to coast, spending time with their children and grandchildren.</p><p><strong>Publisher's website: </strong> http: //sbprabooks.com/SherrillSCannon</p><p> </p>

Story Behind The Book

Suppose you were standing, like a tourist protected by a guardrail, over an opening into the pit of hell, when suddenly the sturdy rail gave way and you tumbled in. You wouldn’t know why  consumed with fear or anger and surrounded by utter misery, it wouldn’t make any sense to you. Yet the fate of many of the poor souls in our prison mental facilities is not so very different from that scenario, their crimes often resulting from the effect of some form of mental illness. And who can help them? Most of us, including the doctors and psychiatrists, are ultimately helpless in finding any satisfactory solutions other than confinement. Ultimately, the only source of real hope is divine intervention. Enter George. Call him what you will; a messenger, a friend, a saint, or even a modern day incarnation of God, albeit a reluctant one, with a mission that concerns his fellow inmates, the unloved unfortunate characters of a Federal Prison mental ward.

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Reviews

<p>I loved it — was deeply moved by the story and by how incredibly deftly you have woven the truth of the Path and its universal teachings into this unlikely scenario in a prison mental ward.<br />…it’s a paean to the courage of the human soul and what beauty can be wrought out of chaos when a Godman appears among us.</p> <p>— Helen Perkins — Initiate devotee of the great Sant Mat Master, Kirpal Singh Ji since 1966<br /><br />~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br /><br /></p> <p>… the turn of mind of the author was such a different view than I have or have experienced from others. This I enjoyed tremendously.<br />… It was sometimes so visual and so intense–so dramatic–that I imagined I was watching a movie as I read.</p> <p style="text-align:left;">— Dr. Sylvia Sholar — Emeritus, Communication Studies,California University of Pennsylvania</p> <p style="text-align:left;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p> <p style="text-align:left;"><em>The following is from my editor at ALL Things That Matter Press</em></p> <p style="text-align:left;">… Jesse! I absolutely LOVED “Song of George” – very unique writing style and voice you have …</p> <p>Oh, and thank your for the appreciation of the editing work – it was a<br />pleasure. … well-written (even though it took me a minute to adapt to your<br />“style” and try and figure out how to keep the voice but temper it with a<br />modicum ot “acceptable” grammar, lol and wink) … it was just a matter of<br />polishing and tweaking for the most part.</p> <p>— Marvin D Wilson —<br />Blog at: <a href="http://theoldsilly.com/"><font color="#006a80">http://theoldsilly. com</font></a><br />Avatar Award Winning Author of Owen Fiddler<br />Tweet me at: <a href="http://twitter.com/Paize_Fiddler"><font color="#006a80">http://twitter. com/Paize_ Fiddler</font></a><br /><br />~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br /><br /></p> <p style="text-align:center;">By Monica M. Brinkman, Author<br />The Turn of the Karmic Wheel, 2010<br />Into The Tunnel of Darkness, 2009</p> <p>Jesse S. Hanson has presented a book, which delves into the very spirit of man.</p> <p>Set within the constraints of a mental facility in our Prison System, it immediately draws the reader into a story told from the inmates’ point of view, narrated by a young journalist, hoping to gain facts surrounding prison life for the mentally ill.<br />What he finds in his search is an unbelievable story and nothing of what he has expected. Nor will it be what you, the reader, expect.<br />And as a reader, it brought forth compassion, understanding, heartfelt pain and much hope. The story contains both prose and poetry that intertwine setting the perfect harmonic melody as a background.</p> <p>I would definitely pick ‘Song of George’ as one of the best stories I have read in ages. <br /><br />~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br /><br /></p> <div style="margin-bottom:.5em;"><span style="vertical-align:middle;"><strong>A Curious and Beautiful Work</strong>, August 11, 2010</span></div> <p></p><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td valign="top">By</td> <td><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/AWARF5USY390H/ref=cm_cr_dp_pdp"><span style="font-weight:bold;"><font color="#006a80">J. L. Knox “Musical <span style="white-space:nowrap;">Chairs”<span class="swSprite s_chevron custPopRight"></span></span></font></span></a>(USA) – <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/AWARF5USY390H/ref=cm_cr_dp_auth_rev?ie=UTF8&amp;sort_by=MostRecentReview"><font color="#006a80">See all my reviews</font></a><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=cm_rn_bdg_help?ie=UTF8&amp;nodeId=14279681&amp;pop-up=1#RN"><span class="cmtySprite s_BadgeRealName"><font color="#006a80">(REAL NAME)</font></span></a></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align:center;"><font color="#006a80"></font> </p><p style="text-align:center;"><font color="#006a80"></font> </p><div style="margin-bottom:.5em;" class="tiny"><strong><span class="h3color tiny">This Amazon.com review is from: </span>Song of George: Portrait of an Unlikely Holy Man (Paperback)</strong></div> <p>Enter George: Serenity graces a facility for the criminally insane.</p> <p>...Song of George was outlined thoroughly and yet with enough subelty to allow for characters that exemplify nuances of humanity. This book was no easy feat to pull off; it would have been very easy for the subject to seem cliche or the characters to fall into stereotypical holes, but Song of George worked as a literary piece, in the most important way. Hanson created a journey that tackles the intimidating subject of spirituality with philosopher’s pragmatism and a mystic’s acceptance of the unknown. A curious and beautiful book.<br /><br />~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br /><br /></p> <p><strong>A Goodreads.com review</strong></p> <div class="reviewText stacked"><span class="readable"><span class="reviewText">The author has some great insight into the problems associated with treating the mentally ill who have been dumped into the penal system. An allegorical tale about a Christ-like figure, this book will hold your interest, and touch an empathic nerve, more intensely the further you read. I highly recommend.                     Steve Hanson.</span></span></div>