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Be Right Back - The Travelogues of a Wandering Mind

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Loved it! 😍

Fresh, absorbing, and articulate, this isn't your average book of poetry. Eclectic and evocative, it's definitely worth the time!

If poetry isn’t quite your cuppa, give Jeffrey Greenmun’s Be Right Back - The Travelogues of a Wandering Mind a chance. Articulate and eloquent, this delicious blend of poetry and biography may change your mind.


Heartfelt and intense, Be Right Back is a “travelogue” look at one man’s life journey and some of the bumps, bruises, joys and victories along the way. It’s an engaging and absorbing read.


The author explains that he was recently diagnosed with adult ADD/DHD “with OCD tendencies” as well as “complex PTSD and a host of interloping tagalongs.” He says, “I am an alphabet soup of dysfunction and have been most of my life.” He’s written his biography in order to “face my squatters: my nemeses” – doubt, fear, and promise. And to "overcome a lifetime of reticence.” His goal is to “invite a greater understanding of my lifelong struggle to become a better me.”


It's quite a ride.


The verse in this book is evocative and compelling. Coupled with a lavish assortment of photos, pellucid prose covers a wide variety of emotion and contexts. The verse usually features gently rhyming poetry. In some cases, however, the author captures portions of his journey by deploying lyrical prose in paragraph form. An example is I Wash Spoons. Here the author describes his upbringing, family chores, family life, and family values and service.


Additional musings and commentary in paragraph form can be found in the rich and full-flavored, Is Happiness a Choice? Other stand-outs include Whispering Wakes (“for the Commodore), Why Can’t I Can, In Death Do Us Part, and Big Sisterie (a decade-by-decade reflection on a sister “blessed with Down Syndrome”). Also Dog Stick Candle (Been there, done that). I laughed out loud reading Knotta Bed-N-Breakfast. The tenderness in Safe Spot is palpable. So are the courage-soaked pages of this book.


This is not your average book of poetry. It’s a deep dive into a wide range of emotion and experience, artfully drawn from the author’s personal life and experiences.


This eclectic collection of poetry combines an impressive vocabulary with an uncanny ability to pack reams of insight and emotion into a few short phrases. Incidentally, the Epilogue is epic. Don’t miss it!


At roughly two hundred pages, Be Right Back can be read in a morning or an afternoon. But this isn’t the kind of book you skip through merrily or skim at the speed of sound. This is thoughtful and penetrating “road of life” collection that’s meant to be sipped and savored slowly, like a fine wine. It’s worth at least a whole day. In fact, if the mere notion of “poetry” makes you break out in hives, give Be Right Back a chance. It’s contemplative and introspective. It’s different. It’s fresh. It’s definitely worth the time.


Adult readers who enjoy reflective and evocative poetry will appreciate this finely crafted collection of same.

Reviewed by

Lifelong bibliophile. Library Board Member. Select book reviews featured on my blog and Goodreads, etc. I'm a frank but fair reviewer, averaging 400+ books/year in a Wide Variety of genres on multiple platforms. Over 1,000 published reviews.

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About the author

JEFFREY GREENMUN is a regular Joe who enjoys writing and photography. He lives in Arizona and looks forward to U.S. travel while healing from a lifetime of dysfunction. God and funds willing. He’s cool with God. He’s not too sure about the funds- they’re still working on their relationship. view profile

Published on May 01, 2023

20000 words

Genre: Poetry

Reviewed by