Tom Zidik

Hi,

Thank you for taking the time to read this, I am Tom Zidik and I am humbled by the responses that I have been getting by my first book, Riding This Electron Hanging On For Dear Life. My friends laugh and say, only you can write a non-fiction with that title. My book is an autobiographical account of the events that have formed my life. I do not forget much and the thoughts and events begin at about two years of age. I have earlier recalls but they do not add to my story. I have addressed a very sensitive event with care not to make it anything more than what happened. I am nothing more than one of the seven and a half billion souls on this planet. The results of that event have enlightened me to be able to tell the reader exactly what a soul is. That is in the first chapter. It is easy to understand and I guarantee no one has ever explained it to you like this. The last chapter of the book is where the title of the book comes. People also really enjoy reading my accounts growing up because it helps them remember and think of their earlier days.

I have posted my first professional review from blueink in the review section of Amazon. Sorry, but I did not know how to add it to my page. I have just received a review from Kirkus and will post it where it belongs this time, when I am cleared to share. Thank you for considering my book. z

My Kirkus Review:

KIRKUS REVIEW

A memoir of one baby boomer’s life in Pennsylvania.

Debut author Zidik was born in 1953, the second of six children. He describes his upbringing in Hershey, Pennsylvania, as a happy time; early chapters offer memories of time spent with his maternal grandfather, who would discreetly throw back shots of Four Roses whiskey, and of a time that the author and his family sang along with a Nat King Cole to “Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer” during a summer drive. Of the latter experience, the author writes, “To this day it hasn’t been…replaced as the most joyful day of my life.” Zidik tells of making it through school and working as a dishwasher. In July 1976, he drove to California in a 1967 Rambler Ambassador with his then-girlfriend, and now wife, Pamela. Although the couple planned to stay in California, unfortunate circumstances sent them back to Pennsylvania to build their lives. The author sprinkles the memoir with bits of advice, such as “It is important to make a basic life plan and follow it as much as you can.” Later chapters tell of Zidik’s respect for the deer population near his home; he includes black-and-white photographs of several deer and their nicknames (such as “Uni,” “Gimpy,” and “Grouchy”). He also offers thoughts on staying healthy (“Your health is dangling on a fine thread, and it could snap at any time”). The book progresses quickly and has the feel of a long, pleasant conversation. The most striking and amusing moments highlight how things were handled differently in the past; for example, when the author, as a 12-year-old, went hunting with his relatives, the main safety advice he received about handling a shotgun was “Do not shoot that airplane” that was passing above. However, the stories have almost no connection to larger events of the era. If the author felt anything about John F. Kennedy’s assassination, for instance, or the mood of the country in the 1970s, or even changes in his home state over his lifetime, such feelings are largely absent here. Nevertheless, readers will find a well-told, though never overbearing, tale of one man’s existence.