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At the age of 30, after receiving an accidental blow to his head, Philip Catshill survived his first massive stroke. To return to work as an operational police officer turned out to be an often amusing but sometimes daunting struggle which he describes in his book, ‘Never Say I can’t’.
Over the next 11 years, he stretched his damaged brain to the limit by studying for a university degree.
Nine years after his first stroke, everything was put on hold when a younger man took interest in his family, his home but mostly, his wife. Within weeks, Philip’s 19-year marriage collapsed. His inability to cope with the changes left him homeless but for a 9ft by 6ft room in police single quarters. Throughout the times of loneliness and despair, his faith sustained him and brought him to a new life and a new love, but four weeks after his last exam to give him his degree, and 16 days after his second marriage, a road accident exacerbated the residual stroke symptoms and brought his working life to an abrupt end.
Undaunted and determined to defy the paralysis in his right hand, he learned to play the piano! Philip accepts he is unlikely to become a concert pianist, but he has achieved passes in various piano grades. With his dominant hand still out of use, Philip took up painting and studied art at a local college. Some of his paintings, which can be seen on his website, are simply breath taking.
Reviewed by Natalie Soine for Readers' Favorite
The Mad Days of March by Philip Catshill tells the story of Terry March, who works for the council and leads what some would refer to as a dull life. Terry is trapped in an unhappy marriage to his sarcastic and obsessively clean wife, Brenda. Shortly after receiving a redundancy notice from the council, a lady in the lift loses her footing on a station platform and falls in front of a train. Back at the office, Ashley Bryant is employed by the council to update the administration and resembles Terry’s daughter Megan. When his wife Brenda vanishes, her twin sister Carol moves into Terry’s home. When the lady in the lift, Ashley, Lauren, and Carol, seem to be attracted to Terry, he is confused. Just when he thinks his life couldn’t get more complicated, Terry finds his wife’s body in the garden, and Lauren’s house burns down. He becomes a millionaire overnight, but then Megan disappears, adding more mayhem to his life.
Wow! That is all I could say after reading The Mad Days of March by Philip Catshill. What an awesome novel, with more twists and turns than a bird’s nest and full of surprises. This quick read veers from the sublime to the ridiculous. The interesting array of characters are all well defined, with as many personalities as a box of crayons. The story is consistently interesting and exciting, with vivid descriptions of the scenes and characters. There are mild references to sex, mental illness, and relationships. Overall, a fantastic novel and highly recommended.
