Invitations

Fiction and Poetry From A Life of Writing

Fiction - Anthology
150 Pages
Reviewed on 06/11/2024
Buy on Amazon

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers' Favorite

Life never dishes out what we expect. Indeed, life can be brutally unfair. But we’ve been told that we’ll only get what we can handle. Bruce Ballard’s Invitations takes a look at his life as a writer with Parkinson’s disease. He was a young man when he was first diagnosed. Like Michael J. Fox, Bruce rose to the challenge and continued with his writing, managing a blog dedicated to the disease. There is no self-pity in this memoir, just brutal reality. His poems and stories depict a life well lived. A man passionate about travel, he’s visited many countries and written about his experiences. It hasn’t been easy, but, as he writes, “With this incurable disease, I find/ I have the upper hand, and that my mind,/ While losing dopamine, still works fine.”

Bruce Ballard’s book, Invitations: Fiction and Poetry From a Life of Writing, is a passionate look at a writer’s life, one who has the added burden of living with Parkinson’s disease. The collection of poems and stories is sincere and reflective, dwelling on themes of life, love, loss, death, and, of course, Parkinson’s disease. Many of the poems are sonnets, an unusual but very disciplined form of poetry that the author masters succinctly and with ease. There are also some haiku, like this one that challenges his writer’s muse: “Do these haiku slow/ My cognitive impairment?/ Let’s all write some more…” The author’s prowess with narrative is evident in his intense stories which reveal multiple levels of emotions. A poignant and engaging read.