| Print List Price: | $14.99 |
| Kindle Price: | $9.99 Save $5.00 (33%) |
| Sold by: | Amazon.com Services LLC |
Your Memberships & Subscriptions
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
A Place to Start: Stories and Essays from Down the Road Kindle Edition
It can be especially hard to find the bright side when you're not an optimist – and Jim Grey is not an optimist. When his always difficult marriage finally ended in a brutal, protracted divorce, it nearly crushed him. He wanted to run away and lick his wounds.
But he had two young sons who needed their dad. He had to stay in the game. He started writing as a way of processing everything that happened. He published his writing on a blog and let friends and family know. It was a double accountability check: he'd keep writing if people knew to expect it, and he'd avoid telling terrible stories on his ex-wife. He sensed that wallowing in his pain and lashing out in anger were not going to help him recover. If he could weave all that had happened into a narrative that pointed to a better future, perhaps he could heal while still being there for his sons. His blog was a place to start building a happier life.
This book collects the best stories and essays from the blog's first two years. They're ordinary stories of an ordinary life, well told. Every ordinary life is interesting; it's all in how you tell it.
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateNovember 2, 2020
- File size36128 KB
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Product details
- ASIN : B08MLB74C2
- Publisher : Midnight Star Press (November 2, 2020)
- Publication date : November 2, 2020
- Language : English
- File size : 36128 KB
- Simultaneous device usage : Unlimited
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Sticky notes : On Kindle Scribe
- Print length : 190 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #3,173,013 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #7,813 in Biographies & Memoirs of Authors
- #25,312 in Author Biographies
- #46,479 in Memoirs (Kindle Store)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Jim Grey makes his living in the tech industry leading software developers. He writes and makes photographs in his spare time.
He started blogging his words and photos in 2007. In time, and to his surprise, his blog became popular. It only encouraged him to write and photograph more.
Jim lives in central Indiana with his wife. They have seven children beteween them, all adults. The empty nest is in sight!
You can contact Jim through his blog, Down the Road, at blog.jimgrey.net.
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonReviews with images
-
Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Jim Grey's book collects 49 short essays about roads, bridges, relationships, adventures, and lessons learned. He groups his essays in three sections: Stories, Essays, and Faith. Many of his stories include dazzling color photos of the off-beat locations where they took place.
The stories are mostly autobiographical, but like all good biography, they contain lots of insight about life. One insight that recurs in several stories is that, as the saying goes, "wherever you go, there you are." To fix some of our problems, we first need to fix ourselves. We can learn from his experiences, just as he did.
Other stories are just fun to read, such as "Adventures to Come" and "Wanted by the FBI" (spoiler: he wasn't really in trouble).
His "Essays" and "Faith" sections give challenging reflections about his experiences with other people and with God. He laments the fact that modern business often cares less about quality than short-term profit. He finds that God provides inspiration and strength but that He won't solve our problems for us. God expects us to do our part.
Overall, the book provides an inspiring sojourn through good times and bad with a person who thinks deeply about what they mean. It doesn't provide all the answers, but it's A Place to Start.
Full disclosure: I used to work for Jim Grey, and he is one of the finest people I've known. Nevertheless, I've made this review as honest as I can because Jim would want nothing less.
Reviewed in the United States on November 12, 2020
Jim Grey's book collects 49 short essays about roads, bridges, relationships, adventures, and lessons learned. He groups his essays in three sections: Stories, Essays, and Faith. Many of his stories include dazzling color photos of the off-beat locations where they took place.
The stories are mostly autobiographical, but like all good biography, they contain lots of insight about life. One insight that recurs in several stories is that, as the saying goes, "wherever you go, there you are." To fix some of our problems, we first need to fix ourselves. We can learn from his experiences, just as he did.
Other stories are just fun to read, such as "Adventures to Come" and "Wanted by the FBI" (spoiler: he wasn't really in trouble).
His "Essays" and "Faith" sections give challenging reflections about his experiences with other people and with God. He laments the fact that modern business often cares less about quality than short-term profit. He finds that God provides inspiration and strength but that He won't solve our problems for us. God expects us to do our part.
Overall, the book provides an inspiring sojourn through good times and bad with a person who thinks deeply about what they mean. It doesn't provide all the answers, but it's A Place to Start.
Full disclosure: I used to work for Jim Grey, and he is one of the finest people I've known. Nevertheless, I've made this review as honest as I can because Jim would want nothing less.
