Where were you when you were 16? What was your life like? Did you feel happy, sad, scared. angry, strong, weak, overwhelmed, or a combination of everything? Did you have a best friend?
The world as we know it is unique to the experiences that help make us who we are now, at this very moment!
When I was 16, as a young boy, I was blessed to have 2 siblings, and a mother and father who loved me very much. I had cousins, Aunts and Uncles, and a Grandmother who were always there to love me and try to support me. Like the main character Sasha in ‘Delirium’s Edge’ I even had a couple of best friends. My bedroom was covered with Christmas lights all year round to create my own safe little world. Yet, at 16, I questioned my purpose in life. I wanted to help the ones I was closest to but couldn’t. Like many young teens I felt scared, alone, weak, overwhelmed, confused, yet powerful at the same time. As Sasha has to do, I was forced to reach deep within myself to help me cope with these life struggles of loss, fear, self identity. What did I do you ask? I wrote and poured my heart out (I became an author of my own life). I read thousands of books, fiction and non fiction as much as I could. I read to find answers, enlightenment or some kind of inspiration to help me in my own life. I wrote in my journals and read like my life depended on it. I reached out for help and found it. I learned so many things, but most of all I learned that I, Michael Arthur Spiegel, at age 16, was not alone with these feelings. I learned never to give up on believing in me and the ones I loved.
I took what I believed at the time, during that one chapter of my life, to be ‘bad’ feelings and turned them into lessons for my future. I became who I am today: a Psychotherapist; a Kung Fu and Yoga Instructor; a person who meditates; walks through forests; climbs mountains; helps others; and yes, I am still a reader and a writer of “Delirium’s Edge”. Along my journey I was also blessed with two incredible children who became my inspiration for my novel when they were teenagers themselves. You see, they too went through their own unique experiences as teenagers which we all shared and survived together. Today they are each amazing, loving young women who yes, had to learn like all of us ways to cope with 16 candles.
“Delirium’s Edge”, although classified as a fictional story, is a reflection of who I was at 16, and who I’m sure many of you and your children and their children can relate to. It combines fiction with real feelings, relationship challenges, and how we see ourselves. As an adult, this book may help you understand new tools to use to look deeper into yourself. As a parent it may help you understand your childs’ challenges so you can help them cope with different situations. As a young adult or teenager it may show you you are not alone with your feelings and ideas which could give you ways to get through the tough times and enjoy the special times even more. It may touch the readers’ mind, of any age, in a way to inspire a whole new way of viewing their life while giving a new understanding of the mind body connection.
Each of our lives is our own individual story. We live one page, one chapter, one day, one minute at a time. Give “Delirium’s Edge” a chance to touch your “16′ year old self and you may be surprised beyond your imagination. Go to www.deliriumsedge.com and check it out.
