Somewhere Fast

Bob Beltz tells a story that probably sounds a lot like his life, and definitely sounds like my life. I'm three years older than him, not a former Presbyterian minister, and I'm not into motorcycles. But the rest of it is so written to me! There is talk in the book about the "man's journey," which I've never really been into either. There was something weird about thinking of my life as going through the same twists and turns of all men. Well, OK - I get it now. Beltz's character, John Calvin's life is a mess in his mid-forties. He does what many men have done, a long road-trip on a Harley, to try to get some perspective on it. He's got a list of people his friends have recommended, who might be able to help him in that project. He's messed up his marriage, his relationship with his kids, his career and his relationship with God. John is also a former Presbyterian minister, so that last one is really important. He roars from town to town and learns a lot. But it's in the events following a completely disorienting experience that bring him down so low he can decide exactly how to crawl back up. I think I'm not alone, among middle-aged men, in being in a crisis stage myself. This book took me into the crisis in a way that nothing has been able to do before. His observations are true. It's definitely a Christian book, but there's nothing preachy about it. Real people talk about real things, including God. "Somewhere Fast," is now officially one of my favorite books of all time. I'll be loaning it out a lot and giving it as birthday presents. Maybe someday all of us Holy Fools will get together and throw a party for Beltz. He deserves it. This is a great book.

This is a captivating read about a man and his quest for what's real. Thoroughly entertaining, Beltz weaves a story around what we all want in life - a place where we fit and with people who genuinely care about us. Forget preachy self-help books and immerse yourself in this one. There's a message here for everyone. You will go on the ride down Route 66 with John Calvin and find yourself taking your own journey that is as thought-provoking as it is enjoyable. Sure hope there is a sequel fast for Somewhere Fast!

Finished Somewhere Fast by Bob Beltz. Wild Ride. We pick up Beltz's anti-hero, John Calvin, just after blowing up his former life, as he's crawling from the wreckage and onto a Harley. In a bravura attempt to hold on to his sanity, he takes off across the country on a desperate search for something real to believe in. The answers he finds along the way are profoundly relevant and crucial for living an authentic life. (There's a real jaw dropper of a climax, too!) Beltz is probably a geek on a Vespa, but he writes like Captain America. Judge Reinhold

This book will change you life, and you will enjoy it! Must read!!!

When I was reading SOMEWHERE FAST, the experiences of Dr. John Calvin seemed familiar to me because I've known a few characters like him. Written in the intimate first-person, Calvin is in the middle of a personal life crisis. He buys a Harley Davidson Road King Classic and decides to make the trip of a lifetime --- not only for the trip itself but to discover some keys to life along the way. From his home in Chicago, Calvin decides to ride his motorcycle along Route 66. From the first sentence I was hooked on this page-turning life drama. "Journal-September 11: I once heard someone say that a man spends the first forty-five years of his life building a tower --- only to discover that he has built it against the wrong wall. It somehow seems fitting that I'm starting this journey on 9/11, the anniversary of the day the towers came down...It's an image that provides a perfect metaphor for the last five years of my life." From reading Calvin's journey, you begin to learn more about the man. At one time he was married and was the senior pastor of a large, thriving church. Then, through a series of choices, life fell apart until his marriage and his church evaporated. While riding his Harley, Calvin searches for answers and makes significant stops along the route. His first visit is with Dr. Julius Leppick, an 89-year-old retired professor. The two men talk about the journey of life and the older man pulls out a napkin and draws a simple illustration. Ascent leads upward with descent or the wisdom journey leading downward. And crisis is inserted in the middle of the journey. Calvin wonders about his place in this journey, tucks the napkin away, and heads further along Route 66. In Missouri, he meets another older man, Joseph Monroe, who adds an additional element to the napkin illustration: initiation. It's where a boy learns to become a man. Traveling into the Ozarks, Calvin meets Rev. William Wolf and their discussion adds another element about life to the napkin. During the period right before crisis, Wolf adds self-identity to the simple drawing. Whenever an element is added, Calvin is engaged in another fascinating discussion about the key issues of life. In Kansas, Calvin picks up a hitchhiker named Nikki. She travels with him for another section of the Route. When they go in different directions, Nikki makes Calvin promise to meet with a Catholic priest in New Mexico. Throughout the physical and spiritual journey, Calvin doesn't answer every question or solve every problem. This gives a realistic bent to the overall novel, whose storyline simply points the reader in solid directions. I picked up this book with plans to read only a few pages and see what it contained. On the surface it looked to have the potential of being too internal in the head of a lone motorcycle rider. Instead, debut novelist Bob Beltz surprised me with the adventures of his character and the revealing answers from his journey. Before long I was turning the last page