Glory Days in the Rearview

We all remember that person from high school. You know the person who seemed to glide through every aspect of those years-academics athletics clubs social interactions. They were popular and successful but more significantly likable. Everyone expected they would do the same after high school. Life though has a way of interfering with our plans and expectations. One disappointment can lead to a string of disappointments and failures until every day becomes a struggle. Those circumstances take Robb Cesario from the heights of high school glory to midlife where a quagmire of quicksand threatens to pull him under. Desperately struggling to maintain family connections amid tragedy and sadness Robb returns to his roots. He tries to find his way back to the life he and everyone else imagined for him.

Mark Nepper is a former award-winning newspaper reporter and state and nationally honored high school English teacher who has spent much of his life helping students find ways to tell their stories. He continues mentoring writing teachers in his role as a co-director of the Greater Madison Writing Project. He also directs "Writing your Life," a series of writing workshops with senior citizens to help them tell their life stories. He now shares his own stories and has written his debut novel, Glory Days in the Rearview: A Story of Love, Redemption, and Hope. He is an avid bicyclist and woodcarver and is exploring the frustrations and joys of painting with watercolors. Mark lives in Madison, Wisconsin.