AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Aloha! My pen name is Philip Dole derived from my full legal name-
Lunsford Dole Phillips. I have been married to a wonderful Swedish woman
for 45 years. I broke my neck 42 years ago, skiing at Sugarloaf in the
beautiful state of Maine. I've been a quadriplegic ever since.
But my life is full. I have five siblings and am smack in the middle. So
I've been little brother and big brother. My father was career
military; so we moved every few years. Always being the new kid meant
learning how to leave old friends and how to make new ones.
I'm an Eagle Scout. I went to a prestigious prep school until I was
expelled just short of graduation. I was an athlete and played football
freshman year at University of Michigan as a scout team quarterback and
defensive back. But my teammates were way better than I. I was never
going to see the field. So I joined the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity
and became a 70's non-violent anti-war activist. After graduation in
1972 I couldn't stomach more school. I wanted to see the world. So off I
was.
I outfitted myself for any opportunity- tent, sleeping bag, hammock,
frisbee, rubber ball, harmonica, spyglass and even a full dress outfit-
dark blue suit, white shirt, red tie and black loafers. I explained it
was my "meet the queen" clothes. My aim was to be prepared for whatever
might come my way.
I bought a $125 student fare steerage ticket on the Cristoforo Colombo
of Italy's national transatlantic line and started my journey to
wherever life would take me. I left New York, waved goodbye to Lady
Liberty from the aft deck and disembarked in Lisbon. My vague
destination was sub-Sahara Africa to see animals before they were gone. I
walked from Lisbon to Gibraltar. I stayed in Morocco a year. Then I
spent another year seeing Europe. I lived another year in Switzerland
and then two more years in Sweden where I wooed and married my wonderful
wife.
We settled in Maine, skied the mountains in winter and sailed the coast
in summer. But my catastrophic injury ended our vagabond life. I
rehabilitated in Portland by going to law school. However snow-covered
sidewalks and wheelchairs are not compatible.
So after a year as a prosecutor in York County, we moved to Hawaii. I
joined an insurance defense firm and learned I'm a bad employee. It
seems I insist on doing things my way. I quit and started my own firm. I
hired an associate. That taught me I'm also a bad employer for the very
same reason. I guess I'm only fit to be on my own. So I've been a sole
practitioner concentrating on civil rights plaintiffs' litigation for 20
years.
I started this novel long ago, but it languished in a drawer until the
pandemic kept me inside for a year. It's been the perfect chance to get
serious about finishing this fast-paced, exciting yarn about appearances
and reality that's full of unexpected twists and turns. Viola! I hope
you like it.