Gathering in the Mist [UNABRIDGED] (Paperback)

by David Bromden (Author)
Key Phrases: minty lady, great red apes, red fruit tree, Davía Buomaen, Daaía Buomaen, Daaia Buomaea (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
What is it like to be in a coma? What if you could hear the people around you talking, but couldn't speak yourself? What if a hand was tightly gripping yours, desperately hoping for you to squeeze back, but you just couldn't do it? Sammy knows what that's like. Sammy lives his life in two very different worlds. One is his vaguely perceived hospital room full of sounds and smells and the frustration of not being able to move. Imprisoned by the stillness, Sammy's mind escapes. Leaving his coma-restricted body behind, Sammy flees to the rainforest and the animals living there. Immersed in their wild, free forms, Sammy shares their experiences and thoughts. Tiger, jackal, rhinoceros, bird and more. He becomes them and shares their existence. But is it all only visions? Imagination and dreams? When Sammy projects into a clever young orangutan, he begins to doubt... and to hope. It is then that the boy learns the power of a truly extraordinary mind and begins the journey to the mist.

About the Author
David Bromden was raised from birth in a small coastal town of Connecticut. Now, many years later, he has left the shore for a life nestled among the trees of northwestern Connecticut. After graduating from the University of New Hampshire with a degree in psychology and studies in education, David has applied his talents to many different occupations. He s been a teacher, house painter, bank teller, bus driver, salesman, and now most recently, the author of his first book, Gathering in the Mist.

Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Windstorm Creative Ltd.; 1st edition (October 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590923413
• ISBN-13: 978-1590923412
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,929,770 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gathering In the Mist , January 19, 2007

By	Kay Bratt - See all my reviews

David Bromden's Gathering in the Mist will keep you turning pages in the continually fascinating journey that Sammy's subconscious embarks on to keep his spirit alive. The wild creatures he meets and becomes in the rainforest are intriguing in their detail and ability to help Sammy. By the end of the story, a part of me was emotionally rooting for Sammy to leave his broken body behind forever and stay with his amazing adventure that was taking place, whether it was in his imagination or real. On the other hand, each time Sammy showed signs of healing, I was hopeful that he would awake and be reunited with his mother. This was a "couldn't put down" book as I raced towards the conclusion. Gathering in the Mist is an educational yet inspiring story for all ages that I will recommend often.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An ambitious book with ambitious themes ..., January 8, 2007

By	Wim Coleman and Pat Perrin (San Miguel de Allende, Gto. Mexico) - See all my reviews

While Sammy lies in a coma after a traumatic event, beings both inside and outside of his mind strive to
help him heal. Medical caregivers put the boy through a rigorous, often painful process of bringing him home
to his body; meanwhile, his consciousness roams the rainforests of Indonesia and merges with the minds of
animals--a tiger, a squirrel, a jackal, a rhinoceros, and a bright and empathic young orangutan named
Sembuh. Indeed, Sembuh emerges as the story's true protagonist as he struggles to grasp the significance
and responsibility of sharing his mind with that of a human whose survival depends upon machines--and whose healing depends upon the young ape's ability to "gather" the consciousness of other creatures.

David Bromden's "Gathering in the Mist" is an ambitious book with ambitious themes: illness, grief,
memory, healing, ecology, evolution, and--most of all--the deep mystery of consciousness itself.
Bromden's portrait of orangutans as wise, philosophical, and shamanic raises especially striking
questions about the quality of human consciousness and civilization. As Sembuh's elderly ape mentor Antik
observes, "The human's path is one of expanded comforts and conveniences. The ape's path is one of
thought and reasoning. We have expanded our minds and they have expanded their population."

The story hinges on the question of whether Sammy's rainforest experiences--including Sembuh's very
existence--are objectively real or the illusory creations of a self-healing imagination. Bromden
handles this question so skillfully that, by the novel's denouement, the reader is ready to feel fully
satisfied by either possibility. This is a wise, worthwhile, and compulsively readable book for readers
of all ages.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very big small book...., January 7, 2007

By	Gary A. Wassner (NYC, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Gathering in the Mist by David Bromden is a very big small book. The poignant subject matter is treated in such a unique fashion that the impact of the calamity that inspired it is almost obscured until the end. That allows the reader to experience Bromden's unique writing abilities and thoroughly unique perspective, in a far more innocent way than he or she might otherwise.

There is an spirituality to this book that transcends the story. And the lessons are subtle; subtle and invigorating. The writing style is fresh. It's clear that there is a strong emotional connection between the author and his story, and though he tells it with passion, it is not overly sentimental. Bromden draws you in slowly and persuasively until you begin to accept the possibility of his character's singular journey without even realizing it.

The triumph amidst the tragedy is a cathartic awakening.