THE TRAVELERS

Creating a sane world amidst the challenges he encounters dealing with mental illness patients is the center of this novel. A well-known and respected psychiatrist Ben Banks is having his forms of traumas and depression as his life is on the downside. But being assigned, Mason as a patient would change his views and perspectives on the world, hearing Mason’s encounter with a dark figure than one that turns white and bright that appears out of nowhere in his consciousness and his reality, calling himself the Traveler as Ben has an odd interaction with someone called Traveler Jacki.

Mason at first seemed tense and hard to get to talk with him and not yet set a plan of treatment when he relates his encounter with the traveler then when Mason finds himself in a garage floating or objects he sees that the garage was smoky and according to Mason his body moved without effort. Why did he scream and why does he wind up in the hospital? His parents want him there and won’t sign anything to release him. When you meet the father you wonder if part of Mason’s problem stems from his father’s perception of him and comparing him to his brother. Is he crying out for help?

As Ben reflects on what happens when he meets with Mason and his mother, you wonder what other hard feelings he harbors for his father whose love he wanted and whose acceptance he’s failed to receive. Added in Ben talks about his relationship with his wife that is deteriorating and the loss of his daughter that has had a great impact on his life. Hearing Mason’s voice and then he must reassess his diagnosis and dealing with Dr. Beverly the one in charge it’s no wonder Ben needs a time out at lunch but this one would hold fast to sadness. Learning the gardener passed away after admiring the plants, garden and flowers plus what he brought into the hospital to make it festive, he falls prey to his own guilt and emotions and why didn’t he realize he was missing? Then meeting with Mason again something unhinges Ben when his trip with the Traveler takes him inside his own house, seeing the word Mel and then learning about his daughter set him on a different path to helping him. Then Traveler Jacki shows up with Bear out of nowhere and hands him papers what is their purpose? When Mason’s mom asks to see him as a psychiatrist what he does will shock readers and hopefully bring Shirley to a greater understanding of how she can help herself but does it?
The author shares his insights into dealing with Mason teaching him how to understand his feelings using a feelings chart and allowing him to express himself plus when he explains how his family never talks as a unit and he and his mother are there for family sessions will he understand his father’s distance? Plus, his talent in art might help him with emotions and more getting his feelings out through sketches.

Creating and believing in other worlds and becoming part of the Travelers and how they understand, and experience different realms is the focus of the final chapters of this book. Mason relates many experiences with floating in the air, seeing himself in different places and Ben begins to believe in it too after seeing Katrina and old colleague and understanding how to release himself, body related workshops and then the hidden truths behind why Traveler Jacki took him under her wing and explained the past, present and having his own guardian angel. Ben pushes the envelope with his care and concern for Mason but when he is given a pass to go home for the weekend what happens changes it not only for Mason but too. His father and brother attacked him and yet he was the one arrested. His father announced he is going to run for Attorney General and paid off someone at the hospital to make sure that Mason was taken care of in a horrific way. Lies, betrayals, fears, one doctor that loses it all when the Executive Director lets him go but one close friend reveals, and the tables are turned in a different direction. Loyalties are questioned, hope is on the rise and yet Mason and Ben seem linked as one along with Traveler Jacki who opens his mind, heart and world to another universe and ways of looking at life. This is a novel about trust, hope, survival, understanding, the healing of the heart, mind and soul and opening yourself up to a new way of looking at life. The ending will surprise you as Ben hopes to find his way back to Beth, to understanding why Traveler Jacki and Bear came into his life and the amazing treasure that was found to help so many. Take the journeys with Mason and Ben into new realms, different worlds and enter to mind and hearts of the TRAVELERS. With hope in his heart, the help of some that would never have trusted him before, the friendship of one man and the determination to bounce back author Donald Altman teaches us many life lessons, many ways of looking at our lives and the world as you too might want to become one of the TRAVELERS.

Fran Lewis: Just reviews