What Happened to Ted Wilson?

People admired Ted Wilson. In many ways, he reflected the personal qualities of his mother, particularly her caring and selfless nature, and her clear sense of moral values. Ted was the friend whom others relied on, a role model for kindness, wisdom, and reason. Yet there was one person in Ted’s circle of friends who neither embraced nor celebrated those personal qualities. Tinker Stanley was a cynical and self-serving person who considered Ted’s idealistic values and naive world view to be personal liabilities. Tinker’s Dam addresses the inherent tensions and conflicts in this unlikely friendship as it follows Ted’s life from age eleven to age forty. At times heartwarming and at other times tragic, it is a familiar story that most people, in varying degrees, can identify with.

Robyn Wall is a retired psychotherapist who resides in Texas with his wife, parents-in-law, and 19-year-old stepson. His professional career spanned 43 years and included four different executive director positions of clinical treatment agencies located in North Carolina, Florida, and Indiana. Intrigued by his clients who were reasoned, successful, and admired prior to their psychiatric crises, he wrote Tinker’s Dam, his first novel, to help explain how this dark transition can happen and to underscore the inherent fragility and resilience of the human psyche.