Author’s Own Experience Inspires Exploration of Life’s Unforgettable Journeys

2 weeks ago 7

Nine Days in Rome by Julian Gould

What does a laid-off senior executive living in Milan, 16 high school students from Atlanta, their three teachers and the Eternal City of Rome all have in common? Not much at first glance.

When the Eternal City beckons, it’s not just history that stirs; it’s the secrets that yearn to be unraveled.

That is the basis behind Nine Days in Rome, a novel by Julian Gould that is part-biographical and part-reflective of the dynamics of people and the relationships thrown into it.

The senior executive, Atticus Winterle, finds himself forced to use all of his people skills along with selected local resources to keep the kids and teachers on track and out of trouble — to the extent possible. Despite, or perhaps because of, the strenuous efforts he must undertake to keep things from falling apart, he finds that both the teenagers and the adults — including himself — grow closer and even learn from the experiences they share in the Italian capital.

While the events the book chronicles may seem like fare for a Las Vegas lost weekend, the takeaway from these experiences is that people of all ages can learn and grow in response to challenging circumstances.

Here are some insights about the book shared by the author:

Q: Where did you get the idea for this book?

A: The book is based on personal experience, with about 75 percent fact and 25 percent of it fiction.

Q: Give us a brief overview of the main storyline.

A: Atticus Winterle, a disgruntled career man, takes on the “assignment” of chaperoning a group of high school seniors and their three teachers from Atlanta, GA, on a two-week tour of Rome. From his getting ready for this unwanted task to the first meeting between Atticus and the group, we have the sensation that nothing positive can occur between two such distant and distinct worlds. As the days progress, however, the ice begins to melt and Atticus finds himself more and more involved in each of these people’s lives. With some, profoundly. There are moments of great joy as there are moments of great sadness. This is life, after all. How will Atticus be changed as a human being after this “assignment” and what will the teachers and the students in particular come away with after these two weeks in his company? Did the Eternal City have a part to play in any of this? Most assuredly, yes.

Q: Tell us more about Atticus. Who is he? What drives him? Was there a particular inspiration for developing his character?

A: The character of Atticus is biographical in many ways. He is a senior executive who has been laid off from a lucrative position seemingly a victim of the financial crisis gripping the globe since mid-2008. With extreme reluctance, he accepts what he believes to be an insignificant and meaningless job offered by a close friend: to chaperone a group of high school students and their teachers to Rome. Thus, Atticus’s world runs into an unknown galaxy: the teenage genre.

Between doing what a chaperone should do, Atticus becomes, at first, an unwilling listener. Once the group understands that someone is actually taking the time to lend a friendly ear, the flood gates break loose and Atticus is swept away by a tidal wave of emotions. What springs forth from this unusual meeting mitigates some of the pain inside these fragile human beings. When the group leaves Rome, our protagonist is a changed person.

Q: Is the book making some kind of statement about the teenagers who are on this excursion? What do we learn about them?

A: It comes down to this: bad choices lead to bad outcomes, and bad parenting is mirrored in the behavior of children.

Q: What about your own background aided in writing this book?

A: My background IS the book.

Q: What do you hope readers will take away from reading this book?

A: Aren’t there already enough books available that cover family-related problems including teenage issues, drug and alcohol abuse, depression, unusual sexual behavior, just to name a few? Absolutely. Yet by offering a narrative from someone who has experienced most of the scenarios in this story, readers hopefully will gain a fresh and authentic perspective on life and reap the benefits from it.

Amid Chaos Lies Beauty, Growth, and the Promise of Unexpected Bonds

Julian Gould is a seasoned business executive with over forty years’ experience in Sales, Marketing and General Management. Married with three children, he resides in Florida and Milan, Italy. His hobbies include writing, cooking and reading. Nine Days in Rome is his first novel.