"The Other Me" by Kerry Keene

Photo: rosedogbookstore.com
154 pages; published by Rosedog Books, ©2024

Time travel is a subject that has fascinated people for decades. The idea of going back into history or forward into the future has long been the subject of books, television, and movies for a long time. When the idea of going to a different time is explored, it usually comes with the caveat to not interfere with events, so the course of history is not affected.

The Other Me

In Kerry Keene's "The Other Me", the idea of time travel is discussed by Darrell Duplissey, a mental health aide at North View Lodge, and one of the hospital's patients. Darrell goes to work on November 22, his 50th birthday, and life has not been anything near what he had expected or hoped. Before his shift begins, Darrell sits in his car and ponders his existence, his work, and his unfulfilled hopes and dreams.

Darrell Duplissey's Unfulfilled Life

It hasn't been an ideal life for Darrell. What was and what could have been floods his mind as he makes his way from his car to the building. At the age of 50, he thought he would have accomplished more and enjoyed his life more than he has. His work is spent overseeing group therapy sessions with the patients, and he tries to help them navigate their lives and get back on track, despite him being unable to find a handle on his own.

Then, Darrell meets a new patient. Willhelm Braun, at a therapy session that day. The topic for the session just happens to be time travel and what event would people like to go back and witness. Willhelm says he would like to go back and witness the assassination of John F. Kennedy. He describes himself as a history buff, and he isn't sure all of the facts have been divulged to the public. Darrell shares Willhelm's interest in the historical event, adding to this is that it happened on Darrell's 10th birthday, and so it adds a little more intrigue for the counselor.

Darrell helps Willhelm recover from the bout of depression that sent him to North View, and he is grateful to the counselor for helping him get back on his feet. The two forge a friendship outside of the hospital, and they meet for coffee on occasion. Willhelm says he has built a time machine, and he asks Darrell if he is interested in being the machine's guinea pig. During their previous conversations, Darrell has mentioned feeling out of place in his life. His work is unfulfilling, he is lonely. Could this be the chance for him to start over with his life?

Going to Dallas

Where would he go if Darrell could go back in time. He tells Willhelm he would go to Dallas in 1963 and witness Kennedy's death. Willhelm warns him if he is to do this, he must not interfere with what he knows is about to happen. This applies not only to the tragic events of November 22, 1963, but anything that transpires in the world after that.

After being in Dallas, Darrell will travel to Massachusetts to seek out his younger self. He plans to introduce himself to his family as a long-lost relative who had been living in Texas. Darrell introduces himself as "Nathan" and forms a relationship with the younger Darrell. Throughout the book, Nathan becomes the father Darrell never had, taking him to baseball games and teaching him to play guitar. Nathan is careful to guide Darrell through life without divulging too much about his life, so he doesn't alter the younger counterpart's life.

Nathan becomes just the influence Darrell needs, but what happens when Nathan ages and dies? Will he come back as a part of Darrell? Will Darrell feel a shift in his own body? Can Nathan ever tell Darrell or his family who he really is? Can he tell them that this newfound "stranger" has been a part of the family the whole time? Can Darrell keep his promise to Willhelm that he will not interfere with the events of history?

Kerry Keene Delivers

"The Other Me" gives the reader an inside view of witnessing events, and Keene does well describing the character's excitement at being able to attend concerts and sporting events. Darrell's love for the Beatles makes the concert at Shea Stadium that much more exciting. In addition to the excitement of seeing boxing matches, baseball games, and impressing strangers at bars, Darrell tries to take full advantage of the second chances allotted him as he lives through the 60's and 70's. There are times where Darrell forgets he is a visitor from another time, and it seems he blows his cover. How does he manage to recover from his slips, and how can he escape the awkward situations with his family. Will he be exposed, and will this force him to tell the true story about who he is and how he got there? Will his family believe him?

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