American Spirits

About the Book

I won’t take up much space telling you about American Spirits, mostly because I’d sooner have you read it than have me tell you all about it. It is my first book, and I’d like to think it’s pretty good. I’ll let you decide on that, though. I know I enjoyed working on it, and I hope you enjoy reading it.

American Spirits is a novel in four parts. It tells four stories, though they are all nearly one. The characters are regular folk, like you and me. They feel and dream some of the very same things that we do.

In the book, we come across a young man trying to find his place in the world, and a young woman learning how to get by. We also meet a man trapped in the world that he has made for himself, and explore the shattered psyche of a woman who has lost everything. Each one of these characters may very well remind you of the people that sit across the dinner table. Or maybe their stories will be foreign to you. In either case, I think you will find at least a little part of yourself in them.

I would like to now point out that the characters make up only part of the book. Naturally, their individual stories are important, and their collective story also important, but there is a third element in this mixture. That third element is the American experience. Though I do not wish to overshadow the importance of the stories, themselves, with everything that makes up the American experience, I do feel that it plays a role that should not be overlooked.

So that’s about all I’m going to say regarding the book, here. I’d like for you to read it, and, if you do, I hope you like it. I will be writing others, and you will be able to find out more about them further on down the line. If you’ve got any questions, comments, or feedback about the book, or myself, please feel free to contact me through the website. I’d love to hear from you, and I’ll try and get back to you as soon as I can.

About the Author

Writer, musician, and professional human Ryan Jurison was born in December, nineteen eighty-three to a working class family in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He currently lives just outside of Syracuse, New York, where he continues his formal education. He is quick to point out, however, that his real education comes far from the classroom. A great admirer of folk, blues, and other traditional forms of music, Jurison can often be found at his musical instruments when not writing. Only sixteen years old at the time of completion, this is his first literary work.