Hal McFarland – författare

From the AuthorsSince writing my book, A Dream Within a Dream, in 2008, the enigmas of the Kiger family have slowly been peeled away, revealing pain, suffering, regret, and forgiveness. My wife, Barbara, a psychologist who has worked with adolescent girls and their families for the last thirty years, has been very curious as to how such a tragedy could have taken place in this seemingly normal family. After many late night discussions and debates, we decided to write a play exploring how this horrific incident affected the survivors, Joan and her mother. We wanted the play to highlight Joan as she transitioned from an innocent 15 year old to a 16 year old marred by fate and the legal system . And what about Jennie? What was life like for her after her family was totally destroyed by this inexplicable event?In our writing process, we each seemed to gravitate to those scenes which somehow spoke to something deep within us. For Barbara, it was the mother- daughter relationship and Joans metamorphosis: becoming the young woman who guides her mother toward forgiveness and truth; and for me, it was about the machinations of men interested more in their own fame, fortune and survival than in helping a troubled teenager.Our thanks to all who have contributed to the search for what happened to this family that fateful year of 1943 and to the Boone County Historical Society under the guidance of Asa Rouse and Bruce Ferguson who were the first to bring this story from the yellowed pages of sixty- year old newspapers to their recreation of the Kiger murder trial.

Summary of Braving the ShadowsLocal leaders in a village in Cucuta, Colombia struggle with ways to improve their town and to prevent the continued encroachment of land-grabbers and an over zealous government. At the same time, half a world away, a small town in Kentucky is struggling to unravel a murder and a counterfeiting ring.It becomes apparent to the local sheriff and a Secret Service agent who have joined forces that the murder and counterfeiting problems are but a small part of their towns difficulties; and as they uncover the international nature of these crimes, the body count increases.These two investigators are not many days into their case before they realize that there are very few people around them who are what they seem; and it is by ferreting out who they are not that the mystery is finally solves.

Three children imprisoned for years because of their ancestry, their final release into a world as foreign to them as it would be if they were on another planet; their struggles, failures, and triumphs as they yearn for and finally achieve adulthood, trying to manage the gifts left to them by their progenitors: all of this combines to produce a fast-paced novel encompassing scenes which would be familiar to aficionados of The Time Travelers Wife, as well as to those who lean toward Star Trek.

Recently, Hal read on YouTube and other places about a group of perhaps a hundred people, worldwide, who have perfect recall: they remember everything and often have very emotional reactions to vivid parts of their life which they are able to evoke.And this bit of interesting trivia pointed him in the direction of “Deadliest Love.” His first-person character, Jesse Jacobs, tells of his struggles with hyperthymesia and its influence on his life as he tries to expand his computer chip business, as he falls in love, and as he attempts to avoid what the FBI has explained is a multiple Russian assassination attempt.He is able to intertwine Jesse’s personal struggle with the ongoing and very real invasion of Ukraine by Russia through the introduction of the beautiful and talented Katerine (Kate) Kaputka, whom he has hired, as his business begins to expand.Chelsea, his wife, disappears shortly after their honeymoon, and he tries to use his exceptional memory to determine what may have happened to her. A year later her body is found in a shallow grave. The FBI becomes involved, and he joins forces with them. Jesse survives a long-range sniper attack and is told by the FBI of a suspected Russian plan for eliminating intellectually gifted Americans before they achieve greatness. He believes that fact could also explain Chelsea’s murder because she was a high achieving virologist on the cusp of a breakthrough with the zoonosis virus.A final attempt is made on the lives of Jesse and Kate in an invasion at Jesse’s home.The outcome of this encounter causes Jesse to sell all of his possessions and leave for Ukraine to locate Kate’s parents.

Connections SummaryThe events, emotions, and thoughts that I have delineated in this book represent 86 years of my life on a voyager called Earth--it is my attempt to establish the fact that there is no such thing as an insignificant trip. I have tried to include in this history both the noteworthy and the benign aspects of this journey and to highlight the people along the way who have influenced me and giving me direction; and as I step back and contemplate the part that I continue to play, I am pleasantly surprised to recognize the effect that I have had on others.And that, above all else, has given my life meaning.