Comment from Dolly'sPoems

Excellent

There are some people in life who are prone to addictions and can't focus on what is important in life as their addiction takes over. I was once addicted to coca cola and drank cans of it at work all day long. When I kicked the habit, I had headaches for a whole week. We are creatures of habit and some take it to another level. It is easy to say this is my last fix, it is a bit like someone promising to go on a diet and puts it off until Monday, and that day never arrives.

Brian seems to be wasting his life here and I am not sure Julia will put up with it for much longer.

Another fine chapter Jim, love Dolly x x x

 Comment Written 27-Sep-2024

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reply by the author on 27-Sep-2024

I'm not addicted to sweets. I can give them up anytime I want to. I've done it hundreds of times.

Addiction is a fascinating subject, isn't it? We all seem to have them to a greater or lesser extent, and they all seem to take willpower to overcome them, which varies a lot in people. I seem to have very little willpower when it comes to things like sweets, so I do best when there are none in the house. I can do without them better than I can moderate them.

Comment from lyenochka

Excellent

I like how Julia's love for Brian outweighs the foreboding prophecy of her mother about him. I knew she would think of it at a time like this. Good idea to switch to Julia's POV at a time that we can't quite trust what Brian says about the situation.

 Comment Written 27-Sep-2024

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reply by the author on 27-Sep-2024

Thanks, Helen. You seem to understand Julia better than some who question how legitimate her feelings are--that she seems to be so forgiving and doesn't get fed up with him, but I don't think that would be realistic in the context of the story.

In the 15 years she has known him, he has only abused drugs once, and that was 13 years ago in college when the gym accident left him in excruciating pain. He is not the typical addict who is constantly cheating and lying to her.

She is shocked by what she finds when she returns, but she's not about to throw away a 10-year marriage to someone she truly loves without a great deal more provocation than what he has exhibited in their life together.

Comment from Carol Hillebrenner

Exceptional

It is so sad that Julia came home to discover Brian's experiment failed. Seeing what happens when he comes down from a month's long high could be interesting if it does not leave him incapacitated. He may be closer to success than his drug-addled brain knows.

 Comment Written 26-Sep-2024

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reply by the author on 27-Sep-2024

Wonderful analysis, Carol. The next few chapters will show just what you're saying here. Thanks so much for your thoughtful remarks and the 6 stars.

Comment from T B Botts

Excellent

Hello Jim,
I suppose if I were Brian, I'd be rejoicing that Julia didn't pick up a frying pan and bean me on the noggin. Considering that she worked so hard for the money that was used to come up with the drug and test it, I don't know that I'd have that much compassion. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that she is so forgiving, and is willing to go on this journey yet again, but it would seem that she would have some feelings of betrayal, or at the very least lose some trust in him. Going on tour again would be so difficult if he is left home alone. I guess we'll see where this goes.
Have a blessed evening.
Tom

 Comment Written 26-Sep-2024

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reply by the author on 27-Sep-2024

I think the reason she's willing to go on this journey again is that she's really only been on it once in the 15 years she's known him--for a brief period when he was a freshman in college after he had that accident in the gym. I wouldn't think much of her if she abandons him now without making a good effort to help save him and their marriage.

It might be a different story if this were to continue to happen now, but her efforts will be directed to helping restore him to health so that he can find the ultimate solution, which is making his drug successful.

Comment from Wendy G

Excellent

I thought he would be really angry with her for her coming home early and catching him out. And I thought she would be really angry with him, for letting her down and himself as well. Maybe they will both explode in four hours' time. Julia is a very good person to be willing to stand by him - but if he doesn't pull himself together, then love alone might not be enough. She wouldn't want to live with him the way he is for too long. Looking forward to more.
Wendy

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 Comment Written 26-Sep-2024

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reply by the author on 27-Sep-2024

He was at the height of euphoria when she comes home, so I don't think he could feel anger about it. And she feels more baffled than angry. Everything seemed to be going so well before she left, and she doesn't understand yet what happened. Anger may still come, but we'll see.

Absolutely correct, though, Wendy. If he doesn't make the effort to pull himself together, that may spell doom for their marriage.

reply by Wendy G on 27-Sep-2024

I am very much enjoying this story.

Comment from lancellot

Excellent

Okay, I will give you a straightforward review. It is not personal, just my observation.

Hmm, a character POV shift, sort of. I say that because in a way, Julia's character is the same as Brian's, which is the same as Francine, which is the same as Daniel and Kimiko, and Dr.... and so on. They all seem like they're cut from the same template.

"Perhaps I should feel anger that he has squandered our money, and he appears to have done nothing to fix this problem that he created after it had been going so well"

-Yes, you're shining a light on what the readers will take as an obvious story and character issue, but that doesn't eliminate the problem. As the character of Julia doubles down (like we knew she would) on the 'saintly support' syndrome that most of the characters have. They are not normal or balanced humans, and they all (except for stepmom) behave like they are all on some happy drug or live in a strange world where they are exceptional humans.

And yet again Brian seems as if he will suffer no real consequence or repercussions or loss. Which at this point the reader knows he won't, so.... what devil is there?

Now, don't say the usual FanStory, I'm sorry you don't like it. That's not it. Jim, you can write. You can. This story, like the others are ultra positive, and an outgrowth of you. But you, and your personality can't be the source of every story. That makes the world and behavior of the individual characters unrealistic, predictable and carbon copies.

Brian is an unrealistic addict, because he has not been allowed to behave like a typical addict or even hit rock bottom. That would be negative. A real addict, steals, lies, cheats, abandons, get abandoned, loses morals, rebels, denies, has friends and family who doubt him, get angry, fight him, walk out, cry, and so on. Brian (the genius) hasn't even been arrested once, or gone homeless, or kicked out of school, or fired, or dumped. And his sister is a cop, now FBI agent

So, if there is a devil, it is not an effective devil. He even has a perfect excuse for being on drugs. A real incurable painful injury. So, he is not to blame for his actions.

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 Comment Written 26-Sep-2024

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reply by the author on 27-Sep-2024

Now there's the Lance I know and love! I actually appreciate this review very much, Lance. You've made some excellent points. I could quibble with some of what you say here, but by and large you are accurate with much of it. And I know it's not personal, and I also would never say to you I'm sorry you don't like it or discourage you from reading it. As I've said to you many times, I appreciate your negative input as well as your positive because it helps my writing.

Let me just focus on a couple of things you said. I think your last paragraph is particularly pertinent to my portrayal of Brian's addiction and why he doesn't seem to fit the picture of "the typical addict." Other readers have also pointed out to me that they have known addicts or have them in their family who act much the way you describe an addict's behavior, and Brian does not act that way.

I chose to concentrate on the type of person who becomes an addict because of great pain and not initially for the pleasurable aspect of drug-taking. I chose to concentrate more on the "duel with" and not as much with "the devil" that you and others typically think of as addiction.

The devil Brian is dueling with is not just addiction, but pain, and there is another aspect as well that will be dealt with in the next chapter when Brian really hits his bottom.

I wanted to emphasize how the pleasurable aspects of opioids confuse the issue of pain relief and lead to the addictiveness of them. In Brian's duel, I focus more on the scientific approach he has taken with his life to find a solution to this problem. That's what I wanted to concentrate on most in this story, and not so much what you think of as typical addict behavior.

You may validly ask why I couldn't do both? That comes from my limited experience with addiction and the fact that I don't personally know anyone who is the type of addict you describe to be able to write convincingly about it. Rather than spend a lot of time researching that and writing about something that many other authors have written about very effectively, I chose to concentrate on something not many have, which is the attempt to prevent it from occurring in the first place when it is due to pain. The science intrigued me, and that's where I chose to spend my research time. That was my initial concept of and original reason for writing the story--to answer the question of whether or not a non-addictive painkiller could be devised.

In regard to my characters being cut from the same cloth and being ideal characters as opposed to completely realistic characters, I can't argue with you there. My main characters in all of my novels do tend to be the same sort of character. They are "nice" as you like to say. Perhaps I am in a rut, but this is the type of character I admire the most and like to write about.

You've often told me, it's my story and write it the way I want to write it, so that's what I do. Whether or not it is completely realistic and there is a market for it outside of the followers I have on FanStory, is not really my concern at this point in my life. If I were younger and wanted a career in writing, I may feel differently, but this is a hobby for me, so I might as well focus on the type of characters I particularly enjoy. And if some others enjoy them too, that's great, but ultimately, I write to please myself.

I will say this, though: If I end up writing a sequel to this story, which I'm leaning towards doing, it will definitely involve other character types. To what extent, I'm not sure yet, but they will be among the main characters.