Only The Impassioned

Near the end of World War II, an American soldier in Germany is mortally wounded. In his final moment, he experiences the glory of a beautiful life, if only in his dreams.    

This is not a war story, despite its setting, but the story of a young person whose life is so miserable that he rejects misery in death. He enters an imagined living filled with adventures wherein family love and creative effort replace warfare. Ostensibly realistic, these metaphysical escapades are alternately hilarious and horrific, yet always lead away from anguish. His selflessness in this visionary realm leads him to understand that in the universe of humans, no light penetrates life more perfectly than peace, an achievement he could not find before dying.

(Please note: this book is a full-length expansion of the "Ilysia" section of my novel, Versions Of Nirvana.)