Becoming Jesse: Celebrating the Everyday Magic of Childhood

An enchanting, inspirational story set in 1950s New York City with Jesse, a 6 year-old, orphaned boy of comic charms and soul-lighting wisdom. He is raised by his beloved Irish gypsy grandmother, Dearie, who owns her own theater, and his uncle Conor, who is studying at the Actors Studio. They reside in a lively apartment building, where Jesse has friends, both young and old, in a melting pot of neighbors with the lingering accents of their old countries.

Jesse loves to solve a puzzle, and he alights on a jig-saw of a mystery twisting around his other "disappeared" grandmother. It becomes his quest to find her, and with imagination and unflappable determination, his inborn magic touches everyone around him in many an adventure.

Jesse has his ups and downs in curious riddles and emotional challenges, all swirling through a world of theater, music, classic literature and gypsy storytelling. His everyday magic is celebrated and guided by the wisdom and humor of his precious grandmother, Dearie, and the true meaning of love's blessings flows through Jesse's quest, finding its way into his joy and inner light.

Becoming Jesse is entertainingly inventive and surprising, and is a delightful training tool for parents and grandparents - and anyone who loves a child. It is filled with everyday lessons, insights and attitudes for keeping the magic of childhood shining. We all want our magic back. Here is your chance. Waiting for you. Let Jesse help you re-ignite and revel in becoming your own magic. Light On

Author: Patsie McCandless
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Light on Publications
Published: 10/19/2018
Series: Becoming Jesse #1
Pages: 324
Weight: 1.05lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.73d
ISBN: 9781732506602

About the Author
McCandless, Patsie: - Patsie McCandless grew up on Conanicut Island in Rhode Island, where she taught sailing and took the ferry to high school. After graduating from Rosemont College in Pennsylvania, she returned to the island, married, raised two children, and was a First & Second grade teacher in the Jamestown School for thirty years. She was aligned with many of the creative organizations and programs within the Jamestown island community. She led the island art association (CIAA), sang in the community chorus, created sets for the Jamestown Community Theater, and took up flute to help create the Jamestown Community band. Self-taught in the fine arts, Patsie is an award-winning watercolorist and paper artist (PaperSolo.com) and Miniaturist. Her work has been exhibited in galleries, art centers and museums throughout the U.S. and in Mexico. In Florida, Patsie served on the board of the Dunedin Fine Arts Center; the Board of Consultants for The Florida Orchestra; and is in the permanent art collection of the Saint Petersburg Opera Company. Her artwork is also displayed at the gallery shop in the Museum of Fine Arts, Saint Petersburg. A special gift led Patsie to a monastery on the Hudson River in upstate New York for a writing retreat with Madeleine L'Engle, and she has not stopped writing since. Her novel, Becoming Jesse Celebrating the Everyday Magic of Childhood is infused with her joys of classic literature, history, music, art and especially, children. Patsie also delivered a TEDx talk: Saving the Magic of Childhood, discussing digital device and cell phone addiction in children and bringing back the magic of childhood.