Life's Golden Ticket

March 12, 2007
In his debut motivational novel, Burchard (The Student Leadership Guide
) narrates a fantasy trip through a ghostly mountain amusement park that offers visitors a "golden ticket," or second chance at transforming their lives. The price of admission to the closed-down park, the narrator discovers, is to be open to possibility, face the truth and give up believing that change equals pain. He also must stick closely to his host, Henry, who serves as wise counselor ("let me reflect back to you what I've heard"). During the narrator's trip, he samples various amusement park rides (all with allegorical meaning) and revisits his past. Each carnie he meets is a motivational guide with spiritual wisdom to impart. The themes are familiar: risk change; forgive; take responsibility; be bold; contribute; look at the other person's point of view. A gimmicky addition: readers are invited to open an envelope (not seen by PW
) attached to the inside back cover after completing the story. Burchard is a competent writer and full of earnest enthusiasm for his topic; the introduction tells of a real-life car accident a decade ago that served as a wake-up call and precipitated this fictional message. Readers dissatisfied with their lives but not wild about nonfictional self-help books may find inspiration for change here.

May 1, 2007
Crisis often brings about significant change. Such is the case in Burchard's first novel, which presents the psychological journey of a man distraught over past memories and present circumstances. Forty days have passed since the disappearance of his fiancé e, Mary, when she is discovered badly injured on a mountain road near an abandoned amusement park where her younger brother died. Sent back to the park by Mary to deliver a sealed envelope, the unnamed narrator finds the grounds not quite as empty as he had thought. As the park mystically comes to life, taking him from one extraordinary experience to another, he observes the key turning points in his and Mary's lives. To save their love, he must struggle to turn his emotions into something more positive. Based partly on the author's own life experience and his work as a motivational speaker, this novel is a stirring and insightful parable of personal growth and emotional fulfillment. Recommended for Mitch Albom fans and public libraries where visionary and inspirational fiction are popular.Joy St. John, Henderson District P.L., NV

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