Finding Lily A Memoir

"Life goes on" his friends and family offered. But to ad man Richard Clewes--caught in the aftermath of his wife's suicide, finding a new way to live meant leaving the safe confines of a familiar life and embarking on a physical--and a spiritual--quest. Not until he took a six-month leave from work and bought a sketchbook and a round-the-world plane ticket, did the author understand--or accept--what a process of transformation he had embarked upon. Part travelogue, part contemplation, Finding Lily is a rich visual record in words and illustrated postcards (mailed by the author to himself along the way) describing the events and the people who guide his journey through four continents and diverse cultures. From grief to a redemptive hope and joy, the narrative is at once humorous and deeply felt, artistic yet immediately accessible. Finding Lily draws lessons in life from a Rastafarian tennis pro, a lesbian helicopter pilot stranded on a New Zealand beach, a Balinese Hindu priest and a Russian Afghanistan war vet turned LA cabbie. Quotations selected by the author from poetry, Greek philosophy, Dr. Seuss, Claude Monet, Leonard Cohen, Wallace Stevens and T-Bone Walker complement the sketches and offer essential insights into taking the long way home. Please visit: www.findinglily.com