The Ride of Our Lives

In his twelfth historical fiction novel, Author F. Mark Granato returns to his roots for inspiration on the south end streets of Hartford, Connecticut. The Vietnam War is raging, the Draft Board is desperate for fresh recruits, and Joe Bertone has pulled a lottery number that all but ensures he will be forced to join the divisive conflict that is tearing America apart. At the same time, his family disowns him, a fickle girlfriend dumps him, he flunks out of school and no longer has a student deferment from the draft. It seems his fate is decided. But like thousands of others who are being bullied by the government into fighting an endless, tragic war without meaning, he must face up to a hard, lonely reality. He takes to the road in his eccentric and battered vintage British sports car, a friend as much as a set of wheels, and sets out to find a world where real freedom is not an illusion. The path is painful and torturous for the fugitive boy who wants only peace and to share love with someone who understands his struggle. Is he a coward? Or a hero? Only he can decide. I hope you will experience the gamut of emotions this poignant, evocative, and decidedly offbeat story has evoked in its first readers. You might even taste a little humor from a writer who rarely dabbles in anything but dark history, mystery and thrills. But this is a story of a young man, a character I'd bet nearly all of us from the 60s knew in some way, who loses everything buts fight back and wins his freedom, real love and a new life. In the journey, he experiences a tumultuous year of growing from a bullied young man to a courageous and committed adult with convictions he refuses to abandon, at any cost. And with him every mile of the way is a unique character: a vintage British sports car who is more than gas, oil and metal, but a feeling, thoughtful, philosophical and eccentric mate who gives him the means of reaching a world where freedom is not simply an illusion.

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