I thoroughly enjoyed the book by Dr. Phenix. His life was so exciting from beginning to the present. Reading the book took you to the places that he traveled and gave insight into the person that he has grown to become. He also lives in the county which I grew up in and still consider home. Through all of his journeys he found the diamond in the rough on each path and road that he traveled. His down to earth stories take me back to the time when I was growing up in the valley and it is the road less traveled, but what an adventure. You will surely enjoy this book and I gave it five stars. Life is worth living and we all get one chance, so tell the story.

Phenix offers us glimpses - brief, clear, eloquent stories - of his very vulnerable steps through life. Page by page we get to know him, and as a surprise side note, ourselves as we remember our own moments. There is no lecturing and there are no conclusions for us to filter. He just easily and honestly tells without hubris, so we can put it together - if we so choose. I was tearing up on page 2 and utterly lost in his world quickly thereafter. But the magic is that it is not his story after all. I brought out pen and paper as I became flooded with my own memories. And then I started to write and write and write. A must read. A must write.

If you've ever taken a train and gotten caught up in the rhythm of the tracks, the sound of the rail or, if you've driven a car cross country or taken a long bus ride, and you see from the road off in the distance....the lights of a farm house, a rancher isolated , alone... you're wondering who lives there and what's happening. A family, a warm safe house, something you wish you had, or something you fear in yourself. Well, Dr. Phoenix puts a face to those lights, opens those doors, invites you in like you're a family member, a friend or priest hearing confession. Could be your own.

As a teenaged boy in Copenhagen with my parents, I remember memorizing Danish sentences in the first 2 levels at the Kobenhavnsintensivsprogskole (KISS) with Dr. Phenix, mostly for his unusual name, but also for his dry, mild sarcasm. And at least one piece of good advice.

Loved reading his book.

Dr. Phenix can stir up feelings of happy and sad at the same time. Everyone will relate and think "that could have been me" threaded through these stories. As accomplished as he is in his education, travels, languages, work and family, he remains humble and approachable as evidenced in his strong conviction that others' stories are just as valuable. His encouragement for others to tell their own stories, is priceless.