Shadow Life by Michael Decter

 In one minute, delivering a not guilty verdict at the end of a trial for a disturbing murder of a child, Matthew Rice’s life begins to unravel. The very structures his life is built upon collapse. He finds refuge, if not security when he embarks on a journey to learn more about the mother he never knew. His travels take him to Sydney, Boston, and Dublin. Still unsure of his place in a world that has changed in ways he doesn’t completely understand, he goes into survivalist mode on Quarry Island in Georgian Bay, where he believes he can sit out whatever cataclysmic event awaits the world with a case of twelve-year-old scotch. Will he be able to find what he’s looking for on the island or will he be coaxed into returning to the world?

Pick up your copy here...

Amazon.com: Shadow Life: 9781770866676: Decter, Michael: Books

SHADOW LIFE: A Taut, Searching Story of Guilt, Family Secrets & New Love. ON SALE Oct 1/22 in Canada and Nov 23/22 in the US.

Michael Decter never had a chance of escaping his fate to become a storyteller. His Irish mother, Una, was an excellent storyteller. His Russian Jewish father, Percy, was also a wonderful teller of tales.

Even the home he grew up in, at 97 Ash Street in the City of Winnipeg, Manitoba, had stories. At various times, 97 Ash Street was owned by Vaudeville impresarios the Gee brothers, during which time it housed Paul Robeson and other Black entertainers who were denied rooms at Winnipeg hotels. Later, when Dr. Moody owned the house, his daughter, Maryon, met and married a dashing diplomat named Lester Bowles Pearson, who would win the Nobel Prize for Peace and go on to become Canada’s 14th Prime Minister. Later, when Una was active in Voice of Women and the peace movement in the 1960’s, the Mayor of Moscow even stayed. The house itself had generations of stories to tell.

In the preface to his storytelling destiny, Michael has managed three careers – one in Government, one in Consulting and one in Finance. He has also served on many governance boards in the health and cultural sectors. Along the way, he has written and published eight non-fiction books, several including storytelling within a factual narrative.

Previous books:

Healing Medicare: Managing Health System Change – The Canadian Way (1994)

Million Dollar Strategy (1998)

Four Strong Winds – Understanding the Growing Challenges to Health Care (2000)

Navigating Canada’s Health Care, with co-author Francesca Grosso (2006)

Building Your Wealth One Share at a Time with Dividend Reinvestment Plans (2001)

Ten Good Reasons to Invest in Canada (2008)

Percy: A Memoir (2002)

Tales From the Backroom (2012)

Recently, Cormorant Books published Michael’s debut novel, Shadow Life, thus beginning a new storytelling chapter in Michael’s life.

This was my first book by this author. It was an interesting read.