The Days of my Life

About the Book

The Days of My Life is the story of a young man’s journey from despair in the loss of his police chief father when he was a child, to his later disability and confrontation with his own dying.  It is an adventurous, humorous, and inspirational narrative of the precarious situations which involve him as he makes his journey through life; a journey which moves him from the gangster-controlled city of his childhood, to the temporary life of a nomadic searcher wandering the streets of large cities and backroad country lanes in his teen years.

It is a journey which leads him not only from place to place, but also from adventure to adventure: as a gun-toting sixteen year-old on the streets of Oklahoma; as the member of a “less than reputable” gang in Chicago; as a minor actor; a paratrooper; a policeman; and finally as a minister and counselor.

But, most importantly, it is the story of individuals who have touched his life during the long journey.  It is a homage to people, to animals, and to events who have left their soul-prints upon his life.  And it is a love story - a tale of how the seemingly insignificant interactions between people can sometimes be acts of love which cause one to focus upon the God of divine love.

“As you, the reader, take this journey with me, perhaps you can look into the mirror of your own past and present and as you remember the Days of Your Life, I think you will also see that, whether bad or good; each moment, memory, and person will reflect the gracious and loving Face of God.”     Charles W. Byrd

About the Author

At age twelve, Charles W. Byrd began his quest for adventurous knowledge by bicycling twenty-five miles across two mountains to a distant town, enduring a severe thunderstorm while huddling under an abandoned coal truck on a lonely country road; washing the coal dust off in a snake-infested swamp, then emerging with his body covered with loathsome, thick black leeches; and finally, excitedly exploring the busy streets of a strange city. Writing about this escapade in a five-cent Blue Horse notebook ignited a writing career which now includes hundreds of articles; four non-fiction books; and three novels, one of which was adapted for a popular television series and movie. Educated at Berea College, Wake Forest University, The University of North Carolina, and Duke University Divinity School, he and his wife, Mary Nell, have four children; Wanda Jean, Mary Angela, Charla Deni, and Charles Danny.