Books by Karl Dehmelt

It’s 2015; Louis Fields is a 46 year old high-school English teacher whose wife died in a freak accident six years ago; his son’s moved to college, and he feels like he has nothing left to live for.An old friend of Lou’s, Ashley Tate, and her husband, Leonard, re-enter Louis’s life to reveal that Ash has fallen ill with cancer. While supporting Ash in her fight against the disease, Lou serves as an adjunct instructor at a creative writing seminar at the University of Pennsylvania, where four freshman students from across the spectrum of life come together to explore what makes someone a ‘good friend,’ detailing stories of beauty, tragedy, and resilience.An unlikely bond forms between Ash’s son Tyler and Lou, due to the fact, at age 16, Tyler’s mother is fighting cancer at the same age Lou lost his own mother to the disease. Through the novel’s depiction of hardship, Lou understands the true value of compassion.

Over his fourteen years of age, Alex McGregor's world has thrived inside the borders of his rural Pennsylvania town; to an outsider, his life is as picturesque as the rolling hills and peaceful farms surrounding his home. His father, Michael, and mother, Lauren, attempt to correct the mistakes of their pasts through the auspiciousness of their son. The family's pristine appearance is shattered, however, when Michael falls ill to a strange lung infection. The internal tension of the family, building for years, explodes as Michael and Lauren separate, heading for a divorce. Alex can only watch as Michael's health fades, Lauren becomes estranged, and his entire world collapses around him. What none of them could've expected is that a more sinister illness might be hiding underneath Michael's ailments, one which threatens to take the life the family built and shatter it into a million pieces. Through resilience, love, maturity, and the undying perseverance of the human spirit, The Hard Way Back to Heaven serves as a testament to the power of hope.