When Prentice Paul Hiller enters the senior care facility he brings with him not only a hip surgery gone wrong, but, a mirror of his past, cracked with the stress of all his memories: a family broken apart by their Appalachian circumstances and the 'great depression;' a childhood tainted by a father's abusive nature; an impetuous marriage and a sorrowful divorce; a subsequent search of 'isms,' for love and meaning in California bars; a tableau of horrible events, including a senseless murder and a desert survival.
THE CRACKED MIRROR, Reflections of an Appalachian Son, is a search for some semblance of legacy by PP Hiller as he feels the weight of aging and a perceived inconsequential life. In an Arizona senior care facility he bonds with Greta Fogel, herself a patient and a former clinical psychologist. Encouraged by Greta, PP writes of his life, his heritage, his mistakes, the events that have shaped him, and the demon within that he cannot dispel. He gives his passionate views on criminal justice, love, politics, religion, war, and his favorite writers. Greta gives her insight and support, telling some of her own life's secrets. There is pain in the writing of his memoir, but there is also closure and a guarded inner peace. This short stay in the care facility brings more clarity to PP's life and yet another memory to store away...to take with him to the 'Sea of Cortez.'
