Reviewed by: Carolyn Howard-Johnson, MyShelf.Com
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Like Tuesdays with Morrie, Beyond Stone and Steel by Brian W. Vaszily recounts a personal passage from one mental state to another far better one, describes the slow, step-by-step trudge often required by events much larger than ourselves.

That event might be death.
That event might be the loss of a job.
That event might be rejection.
That event might be bankruptcy.
Or the event might be national loss.

For this author, all of these experiences played a part in his transformation. Right from the first chapter, Vaszily makes no secret of the result; what he discovered on his path down misfortune's lane is that he is "a lucky man" in spite of the hardships he has suffered.

This slim volume shares the author's journey, both the real one (memoir-style) and the imaginary one (an exercise in compassion). The Independent Publisher Book Award honored it in the category of "visionary fiction." It is a lesson many of us will want to share and learn from.

Mr. Vaszily's work has been published in magazines, newspapers, and an anthology. He plans to donate his profits to 9/11 charities, an act precipitated by the new road he has begun to walk.