Five Years In Five Months

A touching, detailed memoir of a time and place in American culture, and two brothers who learn what they can from each other. Five Years In Five Months is told from the perspective of Chuck Blitz, about his youngest brother, Nicky. In the early 1970s, Chuck was deeply into Transcendental Meditation, and believed his newfound wisdom would help him solve a longtime family problem. Namely, what's to be done about Nicky? The school system had labeled him retarded, his social skills were all over the map, and he'd been kicked out of the Transcendental Meditation training for inappropriate behavior. Chuck believed he could be taught, with the right approach, and naturally assumed his approach was the right one. The two of them take a beach house in Southern California for the summer, and begin months of intense study, meditation, and discipline. Nothing goes like Chuck expected, but everything changes for both of them.