Richard L Turnbull
I was raised in a middle-class family where dialog was highly valued. No topic was too controversial to discuss at the dinner table. My father, a conservative Navy Commander and business owner, and my mother, a liberal housewife and civil rights advocate, created a safe space for the discussion of life. Dinner guests might be black, evangelical preachers, commercial fishermen, Naval officers, agnostics, atheists, Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. Conversations were rich, textured with thoughtful, provocative challenges and rebuttals. Dialog was measured and respectful of each other’s varying viewpoints. There was a sincere attempt to achieve understanding.
My parents raised four boys of their own and cared for and put through college two Vietnamese refugee brothers, and two young black men from the south. They believed in justice for all people, and to a large extent they lived the American dream.
Those conversations and experiences shaped my approach to life and my passion for human rights. I graduated from Washington State University with a degree in Liberal Arts and another degree in Hotel and Restaurant Administration. I spent most of my adult life working in restaurants and institutions. Many of the people I worked with were immigrants. Many had little education. And many faced relentless racial and gender bias. Yet, I continued to believe in the America dream. I believed that if you worked hard and persevered, anyone could rise to the level of their aspirations. And I was wrong.
The Vietnam War, the Iraq War, the daily slaughter of Americans supported by an out-of-control gun lobby, opioid addiction, racial hatred, twisted religious conservatism, and the propagation of hate on social media websites has deeply tarnished American life to the point where my parents would no longer recognize it. I joined the Facebook debate hoping to add an element of cautious optimism to the daily rants. That platform proved unconducive to thoughtful debate. And yet, I continued to feel the need to have my voice heard. My novel, Dissolution, became a way to share my concern about America’s slide into political chaos. The manuscript is complete and I am now looking for an agent to help me get it to print.
Author contact information:
Richlindat@icloud.com
Dissolution 