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Good stories are good stories, especially when they help you remember yours ...

What is the lead to your obituary? What epitaph gets chiseled on your gravestone that sums up your life? So many events and moments. So many stories. It is easy to tell stories, but John Budzinski does more. He asks questions, then pauses, waiting for you, the reader, to respond. Questions drive his book. He wonders, “Am I remembering correctly?” None of the stories are that special or remarkable. In many ways they are standard fare, the same old stuff we’ve heard before. That is the point! We all live rather similar and straightforward lives. It is his commentary and the questions he asks that make it all seem more connected. The familiar keeps you comfortable. The eclectic collection makes sure you don’t stay too comfortable. We are in this together. Nothing Special was inspired in part by a story in an April 1972 New York Times Magazine written by Joyce Maynard called, “An 18-Year-Old Looks Back On Life.” The feel of that story is apparent in the book, although any further connection ends there. It is impossible to look back at sixty-plus years of living, and in two hundred to three hundred pages, condense it all into stories of relatable meaning and significance. There is no explanation as to why anything shows up – Just like your life. Why did anything show up there? Was it Nothing Special – Just A Life, or is there more to your story?