This week’s review is Parleys Quest: An Inspirational Burnrise Saga by Troy C. Wagstaff. One of my favorite ways to rest is by curling up with a good book. Like movies and music, all genres appeal to me, and I give all my books a shot. There are a few ways I find new books to read: Goodreads, my two book clubs, friends’ recommendations, and browsing the internet. My favorite author is Greg Iles, and the books I am most interested in reading are nonfiction books about the Holocaust.

This post contains affiliate links which means, at NO extra costs to you, I earn a commission from any purchases made. For further details, please read my full disclosure policy.

 

Parleys Quest

This is the first fictional book about fibromyalgia by an author with fibromyalgia. Upon learning this, I had to read it. I had to see if this author perceived fibromyalgia similarly to me, and if it was portrayed in the main character. I was not disappointed.

Fictional story about fibromyalgia by an author with fibro. #fibroread #fibromyalgia Share on X

 

What it’s about

Taken from the Amazon website:

“Parley Burnrise had it all. He had the job he had dreamt of all of his life. He had a wife Miranda that was a dream come true. Together they had twins, a boy and a girl, Ted and Emily. Parley had it so good he was almost embarrassed. He worked hard to be worthy of such a great life. Not only was he a devoted husband and family man, he was a genuine hero having saved the lives of more than two dozen people. Just as life couldn’t get any better he fell into a deep dark pit of pain, agony, and despair. From out of nowhere a mysterious illness took hold of his life. He spent years going to doctors that told him there was nothing they could do for him. Sometimes a doctor would think they had figured out his painful problems only to be proven wrong as Parley continued to suffer. This is a story of Parley and his wife as they forged their way into an unknown future. Through the body wide and bone deep pain he suffered, he still worried about his wife and his children and was powerless to help them as he couldn’t even help himself. Over time a mysterious war hero comes into their life. Andy was a double amputee who was looking for someone to help. He had a helped countless people throughout his life. He wanted one last opportunity to serve. Is Parley the one? Parley is in desperate agony as he searches for answers. Will Andy give him those answers? Are there even answers out there that are good enough or powerful enough to help Parley and Miranda? Step inside an engaging story to see the fight that goes on within a man as he struggles to overcome.”

 

About the author

Taken from the author’s Amazon page:

“After a career as a technical writer and software quality assurance engineer, Troy Wagstaff went into business for himself as a successful online entrepreneur. A few years after coming down with a mysterious chronic pain illness, he was unable to maintain the workload required to keep his web sites operating. Several years later he was diagnosed by three doctors with both fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. While battling those illnesses along with white matter disease, Troy was finally able to fulfill a life long dream of writing a novel. He lives in Utah, nestled at the base of the Wasatch Range of the Rocky Mountains with his family. When Troy is not writing, he enjoys reading both fiction and nonfiction. His favorite time in history is during the World War II years. He enjoys reading Christian novels and historical fiction. He considers himself a male advocate for fibromyalgia and chronic pain illnesses.”

 

My thoughts on it

Knowing this book was about fibromyalgia going into the read, had me on the lookout for a few things. First was those subtle, painful signs that I know all to well when fibro started to set in. Second, how the main character handled these new feelings of fibro, and third, how those around me reacted to those changes. The author did well on presenting these three areas in the story and plot.

I could relate to Parley when he described going about daily activities, but having an underlying feeling of not feeling well. Parley describes it as a feeling of being “sluggish and under the weather”. Perfect description.

The spiritual struggle the main character feels is also one that I’ve had. Feeling defeated in such a way can lead one to quickly loose faith. Being ill can speed these feelings along.

Sometimes we need that one person to come into our life to put our own struggles into perspective. To make some kind of sense of our illness or present situation, it may need someone from the outside to say something. Parley had that person come into his life, and this is frequently lost to many of us.

I don’t want to give away the ending, but I was satisfied with it. Overall, this was an easy read setup in a journalistic style.

Buy Parleys Quest: An Inspirational Burnrise Saga by Troy C. Wagstaff on Amazon.

 

Other books you may enjoy about overcoming obstacles