In Discovering My Artichoke, Jack Shea-a fifty-something, sports-loving, beer-drinking, Irish Catholic Jersey boy-shares a humorous and poignant glimpse at how he's lived, learned, loved, and lost, all while revealing his privileged yet uneven path through adolescence and adulthood. As Shea describes his conflict between the safe, traditional business career favored by his parents and a secret desire for alternative expression, he divulges the triumphs and setbacks that have marked his journey as well as his personal shortcomings. As he meets and marries the love of his life, grieves for his parents and in-laws, laments over losing his job on the same day Barack Obama gains his, battles alcohol abuse, and struggles to regain his dignity and reinvent himself, Shea bares the soul of an imperfect man whose frequent departures from the script of life ultimately led him to identify his one true calling.
The charming essays in Discovering My Artichoke will inspire others to lead their lives with fortitude, courage, and faith, but most importantly, to follow their dreams, for that is how we all find happiness.