Review - The Bliss of Ignorance by Ray Filasky
By Carmen, 12 September 2018
My Copy of the Book
Year Published: 2017
Genre: Contemporary; Drama
Blurb:
Aspirations choose our path, however our response to life's obstacles is mostly forged from the slag of desperation. We see their specters building on the horizon, all too often, choosing to believe they don't exist. Tee and Emma Haskins now know those obstacles are there, the question is, can they live with them.
It wasn't until 2017 that Tee Haskins had to confront those obstacles, the issues that had been neatly packed away for twenty-seven years. His position as a Church Pastor in the college town where his wife Emma taught, helped him forget the alienation from his family long before they were married and the success of their son, as an up and coming attorney, validated the fact that life was good. Good, that is, until their world fell apart, a world that wasn't as accepting as they had come to believe - a world that said they had to be separated - a world that was not all of what it seemed to be - a world that tore open the wounds long thought healed.
Recent racial tensions had galvanized public sentiment around those who promised restoration of order, yet it is within the illicit cohabitation of fear and protection that fascism is always born. Wanting the riots to stop and tension to ease, no one envisioned the ramifications of the sought after solutions or the speed in which they were implemented, especially since it had been barely over a year since the 2016 elections.
Separatism was certainly not considered a blueprint for social justice, or at least that's what everyone thought. Everyone that is, except the scheming elected officials who railroaded the legislation by duping the American people and the few dedicated souls that knew it and kept up the fight to undo the resulting injustice - the few who had lost the most. Tee, his best friend and a group of strangers connected only by the internet kept pressing forward, determined to succeed at any cost - they had to let others know the truth if they ever stood a chance of putting their own lives back together.
About the Author:
Ray Filasky has lived just outside of Richmond, Virginia for nineteen years and recently retired from a career that encompassed self-employment, direct sales experience and over 25 years of various levels of managerial positions. Holding both a Bachelor's and Master's Degree in Business Administration, his educational background and work experience have made him a staunch proponent of participative management styles and the importance of cultivating the creativity and enthusiasm of fellow co-workers. He has managed groups from three to three hundred and revenues from two million to two hundred million. Raised on a potato farm in Delaware, he was instilled early on with a strong work ethic that believes that we are each accountable for our own hard work as well as to always give our best and that the majority of individuals want to do just that, if given the chance.
His first non-fiction book, "The Business of Trust," deals with the belief that It is the responsibility of any organization (at least if they wish to be successful and relevant) to cultivate an atmosphere that champions the creativity and autonomy of the individual while, at the same time, providing a clear vision of the overall objectives of the association. Ray is comfortable speaking to groups of a few around a conference table or a few hundred in an auditorium. He prefers to take a lite-hearted down to earth approach to what are often complicated topics. His second book, "Why I Believe," uses this tactic, in a somewhat autobiographical fashion to explore why our Faith is so important and that it is the everyday things in our life rather than the mountaintop experiences that strengthen and demonstrate it.
Taking a detour into the world of fiction, he is excited to announce the release of a new novel, "The Bliss of Ignorance." This is the first book in the New Haven Trilogy and introduces us to Tee and Emma Haskins as they are forced to deal with the unexpected upheaval of nationalistic shortsightedness and societal tension. The next book is "2020" (Book 2) is due out in November 2017 and "An Act of Penance" (Book 3) will be available in March 2018.
Buy the Book:
Amazon: Amazon Purchase Link
My Take on the Book:
This book has got two timelines as well as switching between viewpoints. At the beginning of the book, it wasn’t clear as to what was going on, but as the novel goes on you get more of an idea of the circumstances surrounding the story. The one thing I wasn’t a fan of is that there were some words that were used in the wrong context. I ended up giving this book a four star rating and got a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Last Word:
It would be interesting to find out what happens in the next book, since the story ended on a slight cliffhanger.
Enjoy,
Carmen