Benjamin Franklin once stated, "Those things that hurt, instruct," which is a summation of Antonio Richardson's memoir The Torch Carrier (A Poetic Saga of Love). This memoir instructs humanity how to stand, with unflinching courage, even when the familiarity of life is upended by a loved one's sickness resulting in an untimely death. Antonio Richardson also teaches us that we can continue to love in spite of life's hardships-but a LOVE like his so many dream of, but few ever grasp.
In the author's own words, "The Torch Carrier is the memoir of a young widower, Antonio, who after losing his wife and high-school sweetheart, Cynthia, to breast cancer, turns to his journal and nightly dreams about his wife to find solace in his newly transparent existence." As one progresses into the book, one realizes that Cynthia, Antonio's guardian angel, guides him through the rough terrain of his newfound status as a single father, who is left with the task of rearing three children. And through her nightly visits in his dreams, coupled with her favorite scent freesia, Cynthia also reminds Antonio that he's a man, with much love to give. Although the Torch Carrier is a deep reflection of Antonio's poetic soul, which is liken to pulling back the curtain of his mind and peering into a world of surrealism, it is also a love story par excellence, a love so strong that it reaches beyond the grave.
The pain of losing his wife chisels a deep awakening not only in Antonio, but also the reader. It becomes the catalyst of quantum leaps of growth for Antonio, developing an uncanny maturation. Antonio states, "I lived a long life in a short span of time; my trials and tribulations have thickened my skin like rings on a tree, so straight and narrow I've forged my beaten path. Lucid in appearance yet hypnotized by the constant onslaught of responsibility, I catch myself veering as the lines of life go from dashed to solid to dashed again." Yet, Antonio picks up the torch and carries out his duties as a father responsibly, from nightly dinners on the table to baseball leagues.
But pain, like all things, is only for a season, and eventually Antonio finds love once more in a woman named Nereida. He says, "It wasn't until I fell in love with Nereida that I discovered the degree to which my life had become so barren." Yes, Antonio Richardson is indeed a blessed man, for he finds a place in his heart for both women. For those ladies who may have thought that the knight in shining armor was nonexistent, I encourage you to pick up a copy of The Torch Carrier. Truly, it's a must read.
