Forging Ahead – August 28, 2019

Join us with authors Robert Bryan, Jane Vassil, and Mark Torres as they discuss their books about overcoming adversity and forging ahead.

Robert Bryan, author of “Dark Nights” – Police Officers are the modern-day embodiment of medieval knights, going to work each day with a noble cause to protect and serve society. The profession requires cops to see people at their worst. They see death, tragedy, crime, and despair on a daily basis. The very nature of the tasks cops perform, and the things cops see skews their sense of humor. Sometimes, a sense of humor is the only defense mechanism in a police officer’s tool box. Stripped of the ability to laugh, or forced to be politically correct in a politically incorrect work environment can be hazardous to one’s health. Coping becomes an essential component of a police officer’s arsenal. One of the primary coping mechanisms utilized by cops is humor. A cop can find something funny about almost anything, regardless of how tragic the circumstances. Dark humor involves making light of a serious, disturbing or taboo subject matter. It is sometimes viewed as morbid, cruel, offensive, and graphic in nature and is yet, still found funny. This is the story of the author’s twenty-year police career with the New York City Transit Police and NYPD as he worked with some of New York City’s darkest knights – those cops who did and said the funniest things under the most difficult circumstances.

Jane Vassil, author of “Martha and Me” -Six-year-old Martha is smart, sassy, and speaks differently than those around her. She does not think anything is wrong with her, but unfortunately, the world does. During the day, her classmates tease her about the way she talks. At night, Martha retreats into her imagination and finds happiness in her pretend play as a teacher who loves all her handicapped students.

Martha has real dreams. She is a good child who helps her mother with chores around the house and loves listening to her babysitter, Rosa, tell fairytales. But when Martha’s teacher asks her to read her paper in front of the class one day, all the other students laugh and bully her. Martha is naturally devastated. She must learn to overcome her challenges, believe in herself, and practice kindness. But will she ever be able to find a friend who accepts her just as she is?

Mark Torres, author of “Adeline” – From the author of the widely acclaimed debut novel A Stirring in the North Fork, Mark Torres’ next installment, Adeline, is a fast-paced, gripping tale about the mysterious death of an innocent young woman wrongly committed to a notorious mental asylum in 1977. The ever-determined Savoy Graves returns to try and unmask the sinister fiend, only to find himself plunged deep into the dangerous and dark world of a maniacal secret society willing to guard its identity at all cost. Will Graves achieve justice for this long-buried unsolved murder? And if so, what personal sacrifices will he be forced to make?