Three Summers, a Fall, and One Winter: Hanging On to Your Sanity During Insane Times

By: Ron Breazeale, PhD.

A psychologist returns to his hometown in Tennessee during the pandemic to spend time with a childhood friend battling cancer and to solve the mystery of the disappearance 50 years ago of a fellow employee at a state psychiatric hospital they both worked at in the late '60s and to finally let go of the anger he carried with him when he left the South for a career in New England.

"Dr. Breazeale and I grew up in a small southern town at a time when life seemed idyllic, at least to us kids. Ron gives us a personal trip through the coming of age that we all experienced as we went out into the "real world." He deftly weaves this into several stories about his friends and in the process provides a moving and entertaining read."

- Fred H. Smith, PhD, biological anthropologist and friend

"Breazeale's well-written and vivid personal memories add valuable detail in context of the history of Eastern State Psychiatric Hospital and the countercultural era of the University of Tennessee."

- Jack Neely, writer and editor, Knoxville History Project

"Drawn in by a decades-old unsolved disappearance and the death of his childhood friend, Dr. Breazeale gives us an introspective and candid look at Tennessee and the "old South," modern-day northern New England, and his reconciliation of these two opposing cultures. Engaging and insightful, his story reminds us of what's important, what should be remembered, and what should be left behind."

- Joseph Mazziotti, retired attorney and judge

For more information and a collage of photographs from the summers of 1968, 1969, 2020, and 2021 visit:

www.abilitycoach.net