Tales from the Wilds of New Jersey

Book excerpt: In "Tales from the Wilds of New Jersey," Ted Lyons invites the reader into the "wonder years, coming of age" adventures/discoveries of a Jersey kid whom you will undoubtedly come to recognize in one form or another. Ted: "We’re all here, sharing the planet for a nano second, just trying to get through it! So, of course, similar life experiences are unavoidable." In one-to-three-page chapters, Ted shares the rough and tumble life of a boy navigating his way through childhood, adolescence and finally stumbling into adulthood realizing that he’s Peter Pan in a world full of responsible grownups! The stories are largely autobiographical, and true, to the extent that "memory would allow." Included in the pages of TFTWONJ are a modest scattering of original poems, jokes, and song lyrics along with "skewed" observations of life, just to "keep the reader off balance." The tales are regaled with humor and honesty, as seen through the nostalgic prism of "rose colored glasses." If you don’t see yourself, or someone you know, inside "the wilds"...look again.