“…it peels back layers and defenses in one’s own psyche and relays the message of vulnerability that is universally common in being human and necessary in the journey of self-love.”
“Even now as I read the first page I laughed out loud. I think if you choose to buy this book, I believe you may find something in it to make you wonder, make you laugh, make you want to be a better person, and make you appreciate life just a little bit more.”
At what point does practicing vulnerability fortify ourselves such that we become…invulnerable? This is the vessel on which Constantine Dhonau invites us to explore our most sacred treasure: our inner world. Our voyage is furnished by his journey back across 11 years, from a 17-year-old boy faced with becoming a 28-year-old man, offering a glimpse into his inner dialogue of self-criticism and self-affirmation. We follow his development as a writer and a person as he walks the line between light and dark, love and lust, choice and powerlessness, seeking to free himself from the dichotomous pitfalls of black and white thinking. Throughout this 11-year exploration, he reflects on who he has been, who he is, and whom he wants to become on his way to uncovering a higher calling. He encourages us to embrace the unknown as he bares naked the “collateral intentions” of his choices; those heartfelt efforts which turned against us and those mistakes which became our greatest blessings, in time.
Targeted Age Group:: Young Adult, Teen, Emergent, 17-28
What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
“Collateral Intentions” is a comprehensive collection of my writing from 17 to 28 years-old.
Yes, it has teen angst & cringe.
Yes, it has smile-back-at-that-moment coming-of-age.
Yes, it has letters to unrequited love.
Yes, it has knee-cracking, tear-extracting, mind-blasting, stomach-stirring rawness.
No, it does not have the answer to your problems.
T’was inspired by a desire to put together a book of selected works to read to my students in the field while I was a wilderness therapy guide. I made a small booklet with a few originals and many other established works. It was a fun process creating it (stirring a deep satisfaction to organize and agonize over the most minute details night after sleepless night, cursing the dawn as a landmark of time passing beyond what I could accomplish within “reason”). So, I decided to continue (how insatiable was the urge) and create a larger collection by combing through my dozen journals. Some friends caught wind of my side-project (whole-hearted obsession) that I started so I could have all my writing in one place and they began asking after it. I gave away manuscripts for the cost of printing. At some point, someone teased me about publishing. “PFEH!” I would say. “HA!” I would scoff. “HRNGH!” I would grumble. Then, after sifting through many-a-scam-site, I decided I would self-publish with Overlord Bezos.
Book Sample
Reflections on Volume V
Halfway through our journey! You made it! Isn’t this fun? What’s going to happen next? Could be anything, right? Maybe I got hit by a car and I recorded all my thoughts retroactively from dreams after I woke up from a five-year coma, or maybe I finally found true love and retired on the income from inventing the next “pet rock.” Yeah, I don’t know. Your guess is as good as mine.
“What Are You Doing for Others” holds monumental importance to me. It’s a second chance at love! I was 22 in 2014. A girl pursued me during our first year of New College, and I couldn’t figure out why (I was still working on the self-love and self-worth thing; didn’t make much sense why a girl would actually be so interested in me). I said to myself, “This girl sees something in me, and she is damned determined to be a part of my life. I need to give her a chance to show me what it is, and maybe I can see it, too.” Selfish, I know. Don’t worry, I liked her a bunch, which eventually grew into more love than I was able to handle. It was the linchpin in the crux of a dam made of my trust issues. We both had pet snakes, so we figured we should probably date each other. With her love, I was finally able to move past that old guard—at least for a while—and experience what a mostly healthy and supportive relationship feels like. I say mostly because she held me and my “I don’t give a fuck” attitude on a pedestal, and I relied on her to take care of me better than I was taking care of myself.
Links to Purchase Print Books
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Links to Purchase eBooks – Click links for book samples and reviews
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All information was provided by the author and not edited by us. This is so you get to know the author better.
