FOR AS LONG AS I CAN REMEMBER, I’ve maintained a watchful, curious eye on the human condition. And now, I'm writing fiction about those I’ve observed and imagined.
Perhaps there are no better venues to witness the foibles, struggles, and triumphs of people than on the streets and in the parks of our great cities. And one of the most comprehensive human laboratories in the world is located in the New York City borough of Manhattan.
After numerous hours on the benches of Madison Square Park in the heart of the Flatiron District, I began to create stories and novellas about diverse, ordinary people. I placed them on the pathways and benches within the park’s six-acres. They took in the Oval Lawn, historical statues, centuries-old English elms and James Madison Red Oak, the Reflecting Pool, Southern Fountain and the Dog Run.
These New Yorkers, while not known to each other, are joined by their attachments to the park and a profound need for its shelter. Damaged by life, they travel the park’s pathways, which are also metaphors for their journeys to find elusive happiness.
The park and New York are more than locations in Pathways. They are key characters, revealed in depth.
Within two novellas and four short stories, readers will meet and become engaged with Michael – a young man obsessed with Melinda, an older woman; Steven - a television executive and victim of the Great Recession; Gina - a nurse in an Alzheimer’s unit with attachment issues; Terry - a former New York Yankee pitcher who could have been a Hall of Famer; Jimmy - a criminal lawyer who visits Jake, his estranged dying father and retired NYPD detective; and Chella - a translator who arrives in New York from Colombia to hide from the Cali Cartel and begin a new life.
Perhaps there are no better venues to witness the foibles, struggles, and triumphs of people than on the streets and in the parks of our great cities. And one of the most comprehensive human laboratories in the world is located in the New York City borough of Manhattan.
After numerous hours on the benches of Madison Square Park in the heart of the Flatiron District, I began to create stories and novellas about diverse, ordinary people. I placed them on the pathways and benches within the park’s six-acres. They took in the Oval Lawn, historical statues, centuries-old English elms and James Madison Red Oak, the Reflecting Pool, Southern Fountain and the Dog Run.
These New Yorkers, while not known to each other, are joined by their attachments to the park and a profound need for its shelter. Damaged by life, they travel the park’s pathways, which are also metaphors for their journeys to find elusive happiness.
The park and New York are more than locations in Pathways. They are key characters, revealed in depth.
Within two novellas and four short stories, readers will meet and become engaged with Michael – a young man obsessed with Melinda, an older woman; Steven - a television executive and victim of the Great Recession; Gina - a nurse in an Alzheimer’s unit with attachment issues; Terry - a former New York Yankee pitcher who could have been a Hall of Famer; Jimmy - a criminal lawyer who visits Jake, his estranged dying father and retired NYPD detective; and Chella - a translator who arrives in New York from Colombia to hide from the Cali Cartel and begin a new life.
EDITORIAL REVIEWS
" In his inaugural effort, Lawenda gathers four short stories and two novellas in a disparate collection set against the backdrop of New York, which provides not only a theatrical stage, but mood and tenor . . . Besides the New York locations, the narrative twine that connects these stories is a confrontation with despair as well as the opportunities for redemption within that personal darkness. Lawenda beautifully captures the revitalization that can sometimes spring from a date with the abyss . . . the overall emotional intelligence of the collection is notable, and the unadorned prose delivers its message with a Spartan power. Worthwhile vignettes for the New Yorker in all of us.” – Kirkus Reviews
"Everyone and anyone who has fallen in love with Madison Square Park should pick up this read by local author Jeff Lawenda. Pathways follows 6 different individuals through the pathway of life in NYC all connected to MSP. A Hoboken local, Jeff is a tv/media veteran and is currently working on his 2nd novel — stay tuned." HOBOKEN GIRL
READER REVIEW EXCERPTS
"Everyone and anyone who has fallen in love with Madison Square Park should pick up this read by local author Jeff Lawenda. Pathways follows 6 different individuals through the pathway of life in NYC all connected to MSP. A Hoboken local, Jeff is a tv/media veteran and is currently working on his 2nd novel — stay tuned." HOBOKEN GIRL
READER REVIEW EXCERPTS
“This book is beautiful and sorrowful, tender, hopeful and tearful. It is about real people. The author weaved stories and novellas about very human people whose lives somehow intersect with a beautiful gem of Madison Park in NYC. It will touch your heart, male or female, young or old. It is about all of us.”
“Mr. Lawenda has the power to quickly draw you into the world he creates with his words - I could not stop reading . . . ”
“The settings in and around Manhattan were great . . . The writing was wonderful . . . Great Read.”
“Wow . . . I could not put this book down! Great work in enabling the reader to connect on some level with the protagonist of each story.”
“ . . . a myriad of unique individuals, all linked to a wonderful urban park. Stories range from powerful, to compelling, to emotional. The characters are real.”
“Loved this book. Amazing descriptions, wonderful stories. Can't wait to reread it . . . ”
“Beautifully written vignettes of real life situations with memorable characters that everyone can relate to. The book is filled with universal truths and insights about the human condition, touching on love, anger, jealousy and of course redemption.”
“Jeff Lawenda’s stories are both compelling and touching, written with poetic imagery, cultural references, a love of New York City and life with its joys and pitfalls.”
“Absolutely captivating. Poignant yet full of hope. Each of the characters are painstakingly developed and the narrative is beautifully descriptive. Lawenda captures the essence of New York, but writes stories that translate to anywhere and everywhere.”
“ . . . how deeply I was touched. Each tale was emotionally rich and I eagerly approached the next one. With a great deal of sensitivity, tenderness and insight, Jeff Lawenda has created a cast of interesting, believable characters who demonstrate how lifelong dynamics - individual and family - shape, limit and resource all of us.”
“ . . . a thread develops that ties it all together and the style of writing, subject matter and reality to real life situations is spot on.”
QUOTES FROM PATHWAYS
“Her walk was confident, slow and deliberate, not adolescently tentative but that of a woman aware of who she was. The soft thump of her bare soles touching the wooden planks produced an electric current that ran through me.” Magnificent Melinda
“His days, once filled with urgency and importance, now consist of completing crossword puzzles, washing dishes, making lunch, pacing, and spending hours on the Internet, where he keeps up with the most far-flung news, checks out job ideas, reads movie and book reviews, and looks into photography classes.” Lunch With Louie
“Walking swiftly south, I admire the welcoming marble columns and steps of the New York Public Library on the other side of Fifth. I imagine how soothing it would be to spend a few quiet hours there surrounded by the dry warmth of old books and dark wood and lamplight and look up from my book to watch the rain beat against the large arched windows.” Lost Identities
“A regular at Ned’s would see Terry as a slow, long distance drinker, not a drunk. Just a guy deep in thought, traveling alone down some old roads for two to three hours with Johnny Walker Red as fuel and pilot.” Charmed
“The image of a Marine stepping off a landing craft to confront the enemy on a Pacific beach comes to mind. My father is certainly not the enemy, yet I’m afraid of what I’ll see and hear from a man I barely know. Exiting the elevator on the fifteenth floor, I’m weighed down by our complex history.” Honor Thy Father
“She completes her park coverage with a loop around its full perimeter. Along this established route, she discreetly glances at each man of a certain age. Yet, she is not sure what she’d actually do or say if she does find Anthony.” Translation
“Mr. Lawenda has the power to quickly draw you into the world he creates with his words - I could not stop reading . . . ”
“The settings in and around Manhattan were great . . . The writing was wonderful . . . Great Read.”
“Wow . . . I could not put this book down! Great work in enabling the reader to connect on some level with the protagonist of each story.”
“ . . . a myriad of unique individuals, all linked to a wonderful urban park. Stories range from powerful, to compelling, to emotional. The characters are real.”
“Loved this book. Amazing descriptions, wonderful stories. Can't wait to reread it . . . ”
“Beautifully written vignettes of real life situations with memorable characters that everyone can relate to. The book is filled with universal truths and insights about the human condition, touching on love, anger, jealousy and of course redemption.”
“Jeff Lawenda’s stories are both compelling and touching, written with poetic imagery, cultural references, a love of New York City and life with its joys and pitfalls.”
“Absolutely captivating. Poignant yet full of hope. Each of the characters are painstakingly developed and the narrative is beautifully descriptive. Lawenda captures the essence of New York, but writes stories that translate to anywhere and everywhere.”
“ . . . how deeply I was touched. Each tale was emotionally rich and I eagerly approached the next one. With a great deal of sensitivity, tenderness and insight, Jeff Lawenda has created a cast of interesting, believable characters who demonstrate how lifelong dynamics - individual and family - shape, limit and resource all of us.”
“ . . . a thread develops that ties it all together and the style of writing, subject matter and reality to real life situations is spot on.”
QUOTES FROM PATHWAYS
“Her walk was confident, slow and deliberate, not adolescently tentative but that of a woman aware of who she was. The soft thump of her bare soles touching the wooden planks produced an electric current that ran through me.” Magnificent Melinda
“His days, once filled with urgency and importance, now consist of completing crossword puzzles, washing dishes, making lunch, pacing, and spending hours on the Internet, where he keeps up with the most far-flung news, checks out job ideas, reads movie and book reviews, and looks into photography classes.” Lunch With Louie
“Walking swiftly south, I admire the welcoming marble columns and steps of the New York Public Library on the other side of Fifth. I imagine how soothing it would be to spend a few quiet hours there surrounded by the dry warmth of old books and dark wood and lamplight and look up from my book to watch the rain beat against the large arched windows.” Lost Identities
“A regular at Ned’s would see Terry as a slow, long distance drinker, not a drunk. Just a guy deep in thought, traveling alone down some old roads for two to three hours with Johnny Walker Red as fuel and pilot.” Charmed
“The image of a Marine stepping off a landing craft to confront the enemy on a Pacific beach comes to mind. My father is certainly not the enemy, yet I’m afraid of what I’ll see and hear from a man I barely know. Exiting the elevator on the fifteenth floor, I’m weighed down by our complex history.” Honor Thy Father
“She completes her park coverage with a loop around its full perimeter. Along this established route, she discreetly glances at each man of a certain age. Yet, she is not sure what she’d actually do or say if she does find Anthony.” Translation
Sixty + Me (January, 2016)
" I was sitting at Ned’s Bar, last week, across the street from Madison Square Park, with my old friend Jeff.
As we mused about life, like all Boomers do, he said: 'loss is inevitable in life, unless you’re a hermit.' He certainly
got that right: If we never connect with people, we won’t experience sorrow, but we also won’t experience love.
Isn’t that one of life’s cruelest ironies?
"Now, Ned’s Bar does not exist, but, my friend Jeff Lawenda does. Rather than shamelessly shill his first book,
'PATHWAYS: novellas and stories of new york,' a collection of tales about people and their unusual connection
to each other in separate but binding mini-life studies, I think it’s important to know the fabric of the man and
how we all take these pathways IF we are willing to participate in life.
"I met Jeff in the early 80s, when, as they say, 'cable was king.' We worked-and played-at USA Network,
a growing but fledgling entertainment and sports concern. I was learning as I went along. He was a seasoned,
older executive, with a history in ad sales. But, he was not a salesman. There was too much going on in his mind
back then. He didn’t sell. He brought people into a community and made believers out of them.
"That seems to be the basis of what he has written about. He insists on being a participant in life; He observes.
Then, he jumps in when the opportunity calls. As I read his book, I couldn’t help but remember Ferris Bueller’s
words, 'Life comes at you pretty fast – If you don’t stop and look around for a while, you could miss it.'
THAT, may be the word of caution for people our age. Or rather, the word of hope for people our age. And it
may also be about second chances: reincarnation of a sort.
"Every one of us has stories and memories. But, does this mean that we have a book in us? Maybe it doesn’t.
Then again, maybe it does. If it happened, it’s the stuff of dreams and substance. Keeping it locked inside
doesn’t work for anyone. We have to get it out. My friend Jeff has done exactly this. His characters are
none-of-us or all-of-us. The only thing preventing me from rambling on is that I promised to finish
reading his book. I suspect, maybe, just maybe, my own pathways will be illuminated."
" I was sitting at Ned’s Bar, last week, across the street from Madison Square Park, with my old friend Jeff.
As we mused about life, like all Boomers do, he said: 'loss is inevitable in life, unless you’re a hermit.' He certainly
got that right: If we never connect with people, we won’t experience sorrow, but we also won’t experience love.
Isn’t that one of life’s cruelest ironies?
"Now, Ned’s Bar does not exist, but, my friend Jeff Lawenda does. Rather than shamelessly shill his first book,
'PATHWAYS: novellas and stories of new york,' a collection of tales about people and their unusual connection
to each other in separate but binding mini-life studies, I think it’s important to know the fabric of the man and
how we all take these pathways IF we are willing to participate in life.
"I met Jeff in the early 80s, when, as they say, 'cable was king.' We worked-and played-at USA Network,
a growing but fledgling entertainment and sports concern. I was learning as I went along. He was a seasoned,
older executive, with a history in ad sales. But, he was not a salesman. There was too much going on in his mind
back then. He didn’t sell. He brought people into a community and made believers out of them.
"That seems to be the basis of what he has written about. He insists on being a participant in life; He observes.
Then, he jumps in when the opportunity calls. As I read his book, I couldn’t help but remember Ferris Bueller’s
words, 'Life comes at you pretty fast – If you don’t stop and look around for a while, you could miss it.'
THAT, may be the word of caution for people our age. Or rather, the word of hope for people our age. And it
may also be about second chances: reincarnation of a sort.
"Every one of us has stories and memories. But, does this mean that we have a book in us? Maybe it doesn’t.
Then again, maybe it does. If it happened, it’s the stuff of dreams and substance. Keeping it locked inside
doesn’t work for anyone. We have to get it out. My friend Jeff has done exactly this. His characters are
none-of-us or all-of-us. The only thing preventing me from rambling on is that I promised to finish
reading his book. I suspect, maybe, just maybe, my own pathways will be illuminated."