Cas Dunlap is a former clinical psychologist, prosecutor, certified criminal trial lawyer, and judge. He is eminently qualified to present these stories because he is old and has firsthand knowledge of the subject matter. He spends his time, with his wife Anne, alternately making an effort to behave himself in Florida and trying to bring life to an early end on the ski slopes of Colorado.

 

Cas’s latest work, Days of Rage, is a collection of short stories inspired by the poem Do not go gentle into that good night by Dylan Thomas. Although a poem was the inspiration, these stories are not poetry. Rather they are brief glimpses into the facts and foibles of aging in a humorous and uplifting manner.

If you find humor in forgetting why you went into to a closet; if you don’t quite understand the internet, computers, or what a twitter might be; if you find yourself wondering what really does happen when the lights go out; if you understand that love is life’s greatest gift – as opposed to being forever young – you’ll like the ride through these Days of Rage.

BOOKS

Maybelle: An American Story:  Born in the backwoods of Tennessee at the end of the nineteenth century, married and pregnant at eighteen, Maybelle knew little of the world beyond her holler. Though her circumstances may have been meager, her dreams were not, and she vowed that her life would be better. Taking matters into her own hands, with a few dollars and her infant son, she fled to the big city. Through hard work, a clever mind, and playing a little loose with the law, she parlayed nothing into a fortune. The story of Maybelle is truly an American story after the fashion of Ford, Rockefeller, and the men who built America. The significant difference is that Maybelle was a woman at a time when women were barely more than chattel property.

Days of Rage:  Did you just forget why you went into the closet? Are you more than a little perplexed by the meaning of a Twitter? What's more, do you find yourself starting to seriously contemplate what happens when the final lights go out? Congratulations. You are officially old. Now that you've established that, author Cas Dunlap encourages you to cheer up, finish your business, and rage during your final years.

In twenty-five stories that span the human experience from frivolity to grief, Days of Rage is a comic and comforting collection that offers a philosophical look at the aging process, be it through exploring a poignant interaction at a nursing home or witnessing how one person copes with the unexpected passing of a soul mate.

Together, this stirring, gently humorous collection reminds us that, rich or poor, gifted or not, we are bound to get old. That is, if we are lucky. By casting reflective, wry light on the human condition, these stories drolly affirm the truth about aging, while they also serve as a rallying cry to embrace this time of life with guts, glory, and a grin.