Doc's Choice

Shane Williams is a young high school teacher and coach, living and working in Taos, New Mexico. After having previously finished college and law school, he spent several years traveling across America working odd jobs while attempting to tame a restless soul. Successful or not in that endeavor, he has indeed found a home and more importantly a purpose in this culturally diverse mountain community. He is in love with a woman he adores, challenged and inspired by his profession, and seemingly content. Still, there is something missing.

James Ferguson is a middle aged retired surgeon, who wants simply to be left alone in the peaceful surroundings of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains near Taos. Known as "Doc" to the locals, he is a local legend of considerable curiosity albeit fueled by the mystery of his well guarded past. He is eccentric and quite reclusive, yet always friendly when approached and quick with a smile or a helping hand.

The two men strike up a conversation one morning at a charity run in Albuquerque, and find immediate comradeship in their love for the mountains, and their enjoyment of running the sparsely traveled roads and trails throughout "The Enchanted Circle." They begin meeting weekly to train together, stretching their horizons physically and developing a strong friendship. Doc is the seasoned veteran serving as the coach, and Shane assumes the athlete's role, striving for higher levels of achievement while soaking up the wisdom that his mentor bestows upon him. As mutual trust grows, walls come down and an almost father-son relationship is fostered, with both men healing wounds and finding solace.

This novella focuses on two complicated men of supreme character, their inner thoughts and trials of both the heart and mind, and the evolution of their unique friendship. There is a severe accident that takes place along the trail, followed by a heroic run to save a life, and then a tragically courageous decision that completes the circle of events.

Doc's Choice will most likely build you up, and quite possibly bring you down, but it will surely complete your circle of emotion.