Chinese New Year

O'Banion, C.E

The book is entertaining in that it uses satire and humor to detail the life of an average American in the main character. The 12 chapters include him catching an Uber, his entrapment and eventual escape from an assisted living facility, a baseball game, an irreverent celebration of a Mass, bingo, and Chinese New Year, and multiple inter-facility disciplinary hearings. It carries lessons on culture and taboo dealings of death and loss.

The Chinese New Year is a collection of stories meant to educate those from young adults to the elderly on the treatment our current political and healthcare systems place on our citizens. It shows different walks of life ending in the same situation and their decisions to rise to the occasion or wilt. A story like this on the middle class and the middle of the political spectrum is absent from America's multicultural landscape and currently lacking in the marketplace, offering a perspective of the millennial generation's impact on the world through their relationships with other groups, ideals of the future, outlook on life, and pension for regret, and examines the nuance of the society's middle ground and exhaustion between current political extremes.

Everyone has or will face a moment of conflict in their lives - either grasping redemption or remaining with the status quo. These pivotal times are often overlooked in the minutia of everyday life unless you're a superhero, but they're integral to everyone's journey.

Why do some people take chances? Why do some people want something more? Why do some people never take a leap of faith? The millennial generation has shown taking a risk or following your inner voice to be a key pillar of their persona, much to the annoyance of others and to their own downfall more than not.

There is a growing trend of dissolution within the political system - you either have to root for a political figure or hate them all, despise political correctness or demand it at all costs, love the flag or hate it, etc. The divide has never been deeper, and in between this new segregation, there's a substantial group of Americans and others around the world that feel stuck living their lives.

This book offers a potential historical and anecdotal analysis of the problems through the eyes of an apathetic elder millennial at the end of his run on Earth. In that way, it also attempts to answer questions about who we are when we're older and what life means at all stages. It discusses religion, careers, family, friends, intimidation, technology, sports, and fast food.

The book is easily accessible to those who don't know much about the setting - south Louisiana, yet the book's message is solidly universal, theologically accurate, and culturally informed.