“This is my second very successful experience with Outskirts Press, and I highly recommend it to all my writer friends.”
Jessica Mary Buck’s writing discloses her uncanny ability to perceive the intense emotions that underlie the seemingly tranquil facade of our everyday existence. She exposes the internal struggles and moral dilemmas that so frequently beset us. The Departure is her second novel, (Makeshift Christmas, Oct. 2007). Her writing career has included brochure writer, newspaper columnist, news reporter, speech writer, and publicity manager. She plans to follow The Departure with a collection of intriguing short stories. Jessica has five grown children and lives “right on the Mason-Dixon Line” in Pennsylvania with her husband, Daniel Eckard. The couple enjoys rescuing abused, ailing and “unadoptable” shelter dogs and watching them evolve into wonderful, loving pets. An accomplished musician, Jessica has for many years performed concerts of “Olde songs from the British Isles and Early America.”
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Book description…
The doctor droned on, but all Jon could hear were the words “fatal” and “unbearable pain.” “Are you familiar with the Departure Option, Jon?” In the year 2050 the “enlightened method of dealing with terminal illness” is both pragmatic and efficient, but to deeply religious Millie Spencer it presents a moral dilemma. How can she allow husband Jon, recently diagnosed with a strange, new, fatal illness, to linger in the throes of a long, drawn-out, painful death? Although it is clear to Millie and her family that Departure would be the “best thing” to do, to her it could never be the “right thing.” Would subsequent events resolve her inner conflict? Would Millie ever find inner peace? We empathize with Millie and her family as they endure this crisis. Also interwoven into this tale is the heart-rending love story of son Sean and his mysteriously alienated wife Karen. A futuristic tale with strong characterization, “The Departure” may arouse in the reader a spark of fear that, perhaps one day this fantasy could become reality… and if it did, how would you react in a similar situation? Would you opt for Departure?
