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A Novel of Reincarnation Gone AwryFROM THE BACK COVERWhen Professor David Pitman realizes the accelerating symptoms of Alzheimer’s prohibit him from seeking revenge for a devastating personal loss, he pursues a most improbable course—his reincarnation into a younger, healthier body. His desperate plan is born from an obscure quote of Julius Caesar, a mysterious business card, and an ancient amulet. But Pitman’s actions create great risk, not only for the professor, but also the unsuspecting victim of his selfish scheme—a fellow patron of his neighborhood’s dog park. As revealed in the diaries, emails, and notes of key participants in David Pitman’s perilous quest, a tranquil dog park for the elderly and their beloved little dogs transforms into a high-stakes battleground between the living and the dead.EXCERPT © REPRINTED BY PERMISSION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVEDAn Introduction to David Pitman and His DiaryDavid Pitman’s memories slowly, but inexorably, vanished. For any human, such a loss is tragic, but for an historian such as Dr. Pitman, all the more so. Before his death and unbeknownst to us all, the accomplished professor of ancient Roman history had to live in his small condominium in Naples, Florida, surrounded by single syllable yellow Post-it® notes with instructions such as “Feed dog,” “Brush teeth,” “Take meds,” and “Turn off stove.” David’s life was hell. But it had not always been so. Until even a few months ago, he still appeared to most of us at the Bark Park (our condo development’s official name for our dog park) to function at a sufficiently self-sustaining level. Likely, only someone who spent a lot of time with the professor, which we at the park did not do, would notice his accelerated decline. Right until he stopped coming to the park, nearly everyone at the dog park enjoyed his company for the hour he spent daily in our midst. There, in that idyllic intersection of dog owners, dogs, blue skies, and palms, nothing seemed amiss, at least to me, until right up to the end. David covered his lapses well. Perhaps recognizing by his lofty standards that his periods of normal lucidity were withering, or merely on one of his physicians’ recommendation, David Pitman kept a diary of his daily activities. As you will soon see, that journal was obviously the work of a man who still had his sharp wit and great portions of intelligence but who knew his time was rapidly winding down. At least as he depicted himself in his journal, David Pitman observed his decline with a steely eye; nothing was whitewashed, not even his looming death. His diary also reveals that as his ability to navigate the requirements of everyday life declined, he kept a prodigious ability to recall a phenomenal amount of trivia he accumulated over his lifetime. Sadly, his journal also shows he saw his failings as greatly outweighing his strengths. But he viewed his looming end, physical or mental, with such trepidation that he was prepared to go to unbelievable lengths to vanquish his illness and even the Grim Reaper himself.ABOUT THE AUTHORBesides the Dog Park Diaries, Robert Lerner has published two other works of fiction: An Accidental Prophet and The Cinderella Vessel. As part of Multi-Media Publications’ Lessons From History Series, Lerner has also authored three nonfiction books that weave ancient Roman business practices with the modern workplace: Entrepreneurship and Ethics in Ancient Rome: The Management Lessons of Pliny the Younger, Career Turbulence: Ancient Lessons for Survival in the Modern Workplace, and Customer Acquisition Strategies: Modern Lessons from Ancient Rome’s Greatest Entrepreneurs. Lerner and his wife, residents of Naples, Florida, own a dog-park aficionado named Rigby.

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