Books in the Hindsights series

The arrival of two wonderful daughters does a great deal to make up for Stan's feeling obliged to bring his painting career to an untimely end, but all his efforts to save his marriage prove futile. Perchance to Dream, the sixth and final book in the six-part Hindsights series charts the slow disintegration of that doomed relationship. Fortunately, Stan has by this time discovered the therapeutic value that writing has had for him in his life's crises. Now, with two small children depending on him, he sorely needs a swift recovery - without the help of booze.Writing about his crisis helps him structure his thoughts, deal with his problems and achieve a new and stronger will to live. With Bob again cheering him on, Stan feels prepared for a whole new life. Love comes to him totally unexpectedly, serendipitously, delightfully, in the form of Karin. It feels almost too good to be true. Now, after more than 33 years of growing love and harmony, the test of time has been well and truly passed.Although the narrative of Perchance to Dream ends at the close of 1988, it is followed by an Afterword that ties up some of the loose ends and brings several narrative threads up to date. Stan began working on material for Hindsights some 43 years before completing it. Most of this work was done between 2007 and 2021. Enjoy!

Readers would perhaps be justified in thinking that Slings and Arrows, the fourth book in the Hindsights series, should be given a warning text regarding its emotionally wrenching content. This is that warning. Having overcome the many obstacles to settling down in Sweden, Stan and Jeanette achieve (at least temporarily) the free and simple life they'd been seeking. Stan enters the most intensive and productive period in his painting, by far, with Jeanette's strong moral support and urging. But once again, external circumstances threaten their equilibrium: Stan's dad dies suddenly and Stan's draft orders are cancelled, almost simultaneously; their first trip back to the US a year later confirms their conviction that Sweden is their new home; just months later, Jeanette's dad's death and horrifying funeral confirm their rejection of religion, but seem to launch Jeanette's growing obsession with death; and they are forced to find new living quarters.An exciting project to turn a derelict building into a home with great potential consumes most of their time and resources for two years, during which Stan has no time to paint and Jeanette's condition worsens, perceptibly only through hindsight. With the end of the enormous restoration project in sight, Jeanette's unforeseen suicide destroys every trace of Stan's hope and meaning.