This is a line from my forthcoming novel and the third novel featuring the Greco family–“The Bird that Sang in Color.” It’s told from the point of view of the family matriarch, Donna and is the story of her transformation that is an outgrowth from the lessons she learns from her brother, Vincent. He doesn’t live by society’s conventions and therefore, questions the world we live in and the meaning of life, or in his words, “…what it’s all about.” In doing so, he lives freely, a bird that sings in color against the backdrop of an often colorless world of sameness. In questioning the dictates of society, nonconformists also challenge authority, and this is often a precursor to revolution, which benefits all of humankind.
But Donna not only learns the importance of living free and authentically. Her brother is a renaissance man, with many creative and intellectual pursuits, and he teaches her that real wealth is internal. What a great lesson as greed is the destructive force behind wars and a plethora of social problems. She realizes that when she looks outside of herself for happiness, she finds nothing but illusions and falsehoods, but that on the inside, there is an infinite source of joy and wealth.
This post is from my blog series, “Fiction Books about Happiness.” The theme of happiness runs throughout all of my novels, including Olive Branches Don’t Grow on Trees, Discovery of an Eagle, and The Bird that Sang in Color. These books are available from all major online book sellers, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Apple Books.
