Mixed Blessings

By: Cabot Barden
Publisher: Trafford Publishing
Publication Date: March 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4669-2070-5
Reviewed by: Amy Lignor 
Review Date: July 19, 2012

Told from an insider’s perspective, this story takes the reader through the very difficult choices that people must make between the ‘brass ring’ they so desperately want, and the life they so desperately crave.

It was the seventies - a time where emotions ran high and music was the universal language that seemed to be able to bring people together. Toby Martin is the bass player in a local band called Common Faith. He and his friends have been working for three years to 'get something started' in the music world, but Toby comes to a crossroads quite early in his life. Common Faith is given the opportunity to cut a record in Los Angeles and then go on tour with one of the hottest rock bands in the country - Steppenwolf. Now this would definitely be what you would call a big break, but there is something that is twisting Toby’s thoughts about this, and her name is Nancy. Nancy is the girl of his dreams and he’s asked her to marry him (after dealing with a slightly fanatical fifteen-year-old fan).

Although his friends are more than a bit bummed by Toby’s choice to stay with Nancy and forgo the dream of being a star, his two closest friends in the band, Fred and Corey, also decide to head down the path of love, marriage and building a future in their small southern town.

Toby needs his education and concentrates on finishing college as well as working second shift on a loading dock in order to become the man he wants to be. From there, Toby soon realizes that adulthood is not at all what it’s cracked up to be. From relationships that go awry, to dealing with financial and emotional issues as he grows up and learns how to take care of others with everything he has in his soul - being an adult becomes far harder than ever being a star.

Although this book has some layout issues (i.e. spacing, indentations, etc.) that make it a bit difficult to read - the compilation of births, deaths, rebirths, friendships gone bad and triumphs show that the writer has made sure to touch upon any and every tragedy and beautiful moment that life has to offer. In fact, most of these ‘scenarios’ will cause the reader to nod their heads most of the time as they ‘see’ their own lives and battles through Toby’s eyes.

Quill Says: Anyone interested in the dramatic genre will be pleased with this offering.

For more information on Mixed Blessings, please visit the publisher's website at: www.traffordpublishing.com/cabotbarden