Author, Marc O'Brien Discusses Thriving Through Adversity + Dealing with Issues Beyond One's Control
Life is filled with adversity of various kinds; illness, job loss and the everyday struggle to obtain what you desire. With the increase of people vocalising their experience with adversity, promoting wellbeing, connecting with others on similar journeys while offering prompts open for further discussion, the stigma is finally being removed.
That's precisely the topic of Author and Poet, Marc O'Brien's strong portfolio of deeply felt fictional works including his novel, The Final Fence: Sophomores In The Saddle, which presents his own experience facing adversity while challenging the reader to interpret and learn from his writings.
O'Brien went from a leader and side walkers to showing a horse he owned as a member of the South Florida Hunter/Jumper Association.
Living in Cocoa Beach, Florida, the 1988 Barry University Graduate, he always thought it was his responsibility to educate people on how to deal with hardship. Providing a constructive perspective on dealing with something that was beyond his control, O'Brien continues to effectively educate the public in a way they feel most comfortable by presenting his work professionally on a worldwide scale.
With numerous fictional books including 'Peter The Peteeatrick Panda’s Playground,' to the well-known 'The Final Fence: Sophomores in the Saddle,' using fictional writing as a healthy activity, O’Brien has used the skills obtained during his College years questioning the reader while enabling them to understand life's adversity, what may happen if one was disabled, making it obvious that it is not always the person's fault.
Furthermore, O'Brien urges his readers to debate real-life topics calmly to learn rather than be inspired.
"Figure out who you are and what you want to be. Things start as dreams but through education, you develop your weaknesses and strengths. Strengths will allow you to make goals. When you develop those goals is when you will become a successful person,"
O'Brien states in an empowering interview on The Rebecca Davi Show.
Published by Austin Macauley UK, The Final Fence: Sophomores In The Saddle compares the academic classroom with the athletic field. Based on real-life incidents, it emphasises the need of supporting the disabled demographic. Furthermore, it is exceedingly rare for someone to express an issue of the importance of a disabled person to others outside stereotypical ‘inspiration.”
Eddie Patrick, the primary character, is a make-up of O'Brien who majors in Communications Arts. Patrick attempted suicide using two canes as a result of something beyond his control and two wristbands, a symptom of being self-destructive.
On the contrary, Danielle Lynne, who has never competed on a national level, is able-bodied with the skills required to qualify for the Olympics.
When Patrick meets Lynne on a college campus, their mutual love of horses sparks a classroom debate. Working toward a shared objective, Patrick and Lynne's friendship exemplifies how one person dealt with a physical impairment that was not their fault, the significance of talking about mental health, excellent friendships, respect, achieving closure, and having a stable base.
Once this is achieved, the disabled person no longer self-destructs and matures into an adult ready to take on the world.
"The disabled person with closure, academic credibility and achievements equate to a very powerful and well put together individual despite a so-called disability,"
says O'Brien.
The Final Fence: Sophomores In The Saddle is centred on socialisation and how we view disability, taking an honest and imaginative look into a life filled with assistance.
No matter how big or small, everyone has the ability to make a difference in society despite the challenges life may bring.
Moreover, we all fall through difficult times at some point in life. Facing adversity, which is by no means easy, entails learning what you are truly made of and observing how you behave when things are beyond one's control.
Pick up your copy of 'The Final Fence: Sophomore in the Saddle' on Amazon and Austin MacCauley.com
