An adopotee's wicked and hilarious search for identity and love
A funny, devilish and romantic memoirr with mystery and surprise ending. It's an adoptee's wicked and hilarious search for identity and love.
Excerpt
The undertaker guys took out a body bag and enclosed the dead man inside and then placed him in the rear of the station wagon. This was obviously just another day at the office for these guys, but for me sitting in the middle, it was not as agreeable. The dead guy’s head was right behind me. I spotted holes in the body bag, and I speculated why. Maybe they’re there just in case, you know...what if he’s not dead? He would need to breathe.
I craned my neck and glanced back momentarily and noticed through one of the holes, an eye, and it was partially open. He stared at me! Shit!
Meanwhile, the Elvis guy drove like a maniac, virtually flying over the rough, crooked dirt road to Jamesville West. As we careened around a curve, he unexpectedly spotted a massive pothole. Elvis Undertaker slammed on the brakes, hard.
I had learned about Newton’s Law of Inertia in school. Every body remains in a state of constant velocity unless acted upon by an external unbalanced force. This means that in the absence of a non-zero net force, the center of mass of a body either remains at rest or moves at a constant velocity.
The body behind me was no longer at rest. The dead man flew forward at a rather high velocity, crashing into the back of my head.
Professional Reviews
Annie Wilder- Author
From hardscrabble rural poverty and corpses in the living room to Nashville’s bright lights and boozy nights (and mornings, and afternoons…) this madcap true account of one man’s quest for love, identity—and gainful employment as a radio man—has it all: hijinks, heartbreak, and hilarity.
Devon O
Everyone has a story. Everyone is a song. But few people ever take the time to write it down. Alex Stan Campbell shares his life - a myriad of harsh realities - violence, violation, and victory with such vulnerable honesty that it pulls the reader into a place of instant empathy. For any person who has ever struggled with the mystery of heritage through adoption, the affects of innocence stolen too young, and the darkness of addiction, you will identify...and maybe cry. But it will be good. It will be cathartic and healing. And you will laugh, realizing that along with darkness and regret, there is hope when love shines in. The Ugly One in the Middle is a beautiful journey that carries you to a new destination, if you are brave enough to go.
Anne Nestman-Teacher
You write in such an engaging style. I laughed at your humor, I delighted when you found success, I cried when you messed up.
This book has been eight years in the making. It is mostly a jumble of thoughts written down in old spiral notebooks and hidden in the bottom drawer underneath various manuals for software packages and hardware long since turned obsolete.
The story of Ron Hull, paralyzed in a surgical accident back in the dreaded polio epidemic days, was able to overcome most of the stigma and stereotypes and "pass for normal" for 30 years. As Ron's paralysis increased gradually through the next 20
