LOVEBLIND: Tales of a Footloose Man is definitely a book about fate, a story so brilliantly paced with characters written with complex motivations and feelings, but most importantly the strong emphasis on fate. There’s quite a lot to find in love story books, but in LOVEBLIND: Tales of a Footloose Man, we find that the story shows the protagonist finding himself to be a victim of fate in many of his unfortunate circumstances.
Had he not worked as a particular parking attendant, he might not have met the second woman who hurt his heart so much again. She wouldn’t have been able to dig her claws deeper into him. Rick Trax, the protagonist of the novel, is a man who finds himself trapped in the claws of women who wish to toy with his feelings and discard him when they feel they have fun with him; the protagonist lacks the mental fortitude to push them away. But this book about fate is beyond that, the protagonist is a man who allows himself to be consumed by a life of drugs, sex and debauchery.
Everyone has their Demons
He allowed himself to let these demons consume him, and he was given many opportunities to change the direction of his life by finding the one woman who was stable and peaceful, willing to work with him on things, with whom he also raised 3 children. Unfortunately, the protagonist blew off this opportunity, and things would only get worse from there. Rick Haggard’s book is a book about fate, not very different from other spiritual formation books.
In this book about fate, the author shows how the protagonist feels great guilt at his adultery with his wife, Sophie, whom he divorces for another woman whom he lusts after, who subsequently also breaks his heart. The story in “LOVEBLIND: Tales of a Footloose Man,” shows that we should be grateful for the opportunities in life that we were provided with. It isn’t easy to always resist temptation, but the genuine effort to stay on the right path must always be there. Certain actions in this book about fate are considered vices for a reason: they play a role in damaging our lives in the long run, sometimes, the things that you have in life are the ones that you need to be grateful for rather than looking for more.
Sex, Drugs and Rock n’ Roll
We take a lot for granted, and unfortunately, we often find out when it’s too late, and the consequences of our actions are staring right back at us. Rick Haggard shows how his protagonist allowed his demons to consume him; he ruined his friendships, his marriage and the relationships he had with his kids all to chase the next high, whether it was drugs, alcohol or sex.
Losing himself in the process until he had the opportunity to reflect on a life that wasn’t well lived, he realized how much of a flawed and broken person he was. Such spiritual formation books serve as cautionary tales of not allowing your ego and narcissistic tendencies to influence your decision-making. To paraphrase what Rick would say in the book: “What we want is right in front of us but isn’t what we need.” This is a bit different compared to other love story books to read.
The story shows a great deal of regret and the fact of the matter is some decisions that you make in life are rather difficult to reverse. You can’t always heal a broken relationship with your children; it’s not easy, and it takes a lot of effort and a lot of healing to do so; most of all, however, it requires the self-awareness of your shortcomings to do so.
Suppose you see yourself as a man without flaws, as a person who deserves the world without providing anything of value to it in return. In that case, you will find that nothing will ever satisfy you, such as the case with our protagonist, who destroyed the things that mattered the most in pursuit of the things that his selfish, hedonistic mind wanted. The eloquent writing of the story in this book about fate excels in hammering home this point, with every chapter showing the regret that Rick feels at the actions he’s taken over the years; it’s a tale of reflection and a tale of karma.
What goes around comes around
The ways he hurt other people came back to hurt him; the mother of his children was the one person who was good to him, yet he broke her heart in the process and ruined his marriage with her despite her doing everything she could to keep him happy. Despite everything that happens, fate can be confusing at times; when he had lost everything, the two women he loved all those years before came back to him in interesting ways such is the nature of fate. This is one of the best love story books to read that you can find in the market right now just for the simple reason that it melds together many themes and ideas as well as having a protagonist that many will find relatable.