Bob’s Eve Odyssey
COMING SOONBy Robert M. Katzman
$29.99 Plus sales tax, where applicable.
“Extraordinarily romantic... a legitimate love story, with poetry and prose.”
I worked seven days a week to run my wooden shack, to pay for my high school. Besides food and rent, buying clothes seemed a ridiculous luxury. But at my fancy private school, clothes were everything. I didn’t understand this. No girl would talk to me let alone date me in four lonely years. I was a shy quiet teenager with little confidence. Then, at 17 in September, I met a beautiful, 28-year-old French woman. Over four months, she lovingly taught me the intricacies of sex. By December, I had the nerve to ask a girl out from my school. We dated, married, and though she and I parted after a decade, we had a beautiful daughter.
My tiny newsstand grew into a number of businesses. I found love again, with a wonderful woman, Joy, who became my second wife in 1978. Joy and I had two more children, adopted the fourth one in 1996 and by 2016, we had five grandchildren. In 2015, my wife and I moved to Wisconsin. Tragically, within six months, Joyce became extremely ill. With no regrets, I closed my store in Chicago and cared for my wife of 42 years for the next 13 months; until I lost her to cancer in 2017.
Having written stories and poems since I was a child, I had published four autobiographical books between 2004 and 2008, selling them in my stores. After Joy’s death, I filled my empty days with writing to keep myself from going mad. After some time, my loneliness and Joy’s wish that I not remain alone led me to try online dating. After 14 attempts and 923 days, in November 2019 an intriguing woman contacted me, Nancy – my “Eve”; both an artist and a teacher. I asked her to marry me on Christmas Eve of 2021. We married in May 2022 and are very happy together. Nancy’s background in graphic design led her to ask me about my mountain of stories. She helped me to catalog the work: there were over 600 stories and poems!
Nancy and I went on to collaborate on designing and creating 24 books. Our business venture, called Don’t Go Quietly Press, is difficult, exciting and fulfilling. Our first 6 books were published in February 2024. Our future, wonderfully, is now unknown.
My tiny newsstand grew into a number of businesses. I found love again, with a wonderful woman, Joy, who became my second wife in 1978. Joy and I had two more children, adopted the fourth one in 1996 and by 2016, we had five grandchildren. In 2015, my wife and I moved to Wisconsin. Tragically, within six months, Joyce became extremely ill. With no regrets, I closed my store in Chicago and cared for my wife of 42 years for the next 13 months; until I lost her to cancer in 2017.
Having written stories and poems since I was a child, I had published four autobiographical books between 2004 and 2008, selling them in my stores. After Joy’s death, I filled my empty days with writing to keep myself from going mad. After some time, my loneliness and Joy’s wish that I not remain alone led me to try online dating. After 14 attempts and 923 days, in November 2019 an intriguing woman contacted me, Nancy – my “Eve”; both an artist and a teacher. I asked her to marry me on Christmas Eve of 2021. We married in May 2022 and are very happy together. Nancy’s background in graphic design led her to ask me about my mountain of stories. She helped me to catalog the work: there were over 600 stories and poems!
Nancy and I went on to collaborate on designing and creating 24 books. Our business venture, called Don’t Go Quietly Press, is difficult, exciting and fulfilling. Our first 6 books were published in February 2024. Our future, wonderfully, is now unknown.
