Retirement, Depression, and Mitch Jasper

Mitch Jasper, a very successful owner of an advertising agency in Chicago, has a major heart attack and is told by his doctor that he either has to sell his agency and retire or be dead within a year. Trouble is, Mitch's work has been his whole life, that and the social life in the fast lane in Chicago. His wife is gone, he's estranged from his three children, and he has no hobbies to speak of. After much soul searching, with whatever remained of his soul, he decided to go back to Minneapolis, the city he grew up in, and start over again. It seemed like a good idea, but leaving a vibrant city in which he'd lived his whole adult life and leaving a career that had life and meaning in it, was a formula for disaster. One morning, looking out the window of his condo on 50th and France in the affluent city of Edina, a suburb of Minneapolis, depression descended on him like a dark cloud that carried within it hopelessness and despair. Faced with the rest of his life being a meaningless shambles, Mitch comes to realize that it's never too late to start over again. His best friend growing up, Dave Logan, who Mitch had nothing to do with for 30 years, became his friend again and a positive force in his life that resulted in a transformation of soul and spirit that can best be described as a miracle of sorts. New friendships, a new venture, and a reconciliation with his family and his God completed Mitch's turn-around from the darkest of darks to a bright, shining future. This is a must read for anyone associated with depression in any way, whether as a sufferer, a friend, or a family member. It's also a great read for someone who has just retired and is wondering what to do with his or her life.