Noteworthy, newsworthy and
watercooler-worthy
March, 2024
Samsara Interrupted is published and ready to purchase through Amazon!
My new novel is finished and I hope you will enjoy reading it. It is not a sequel to Strike Two, and if you’ve read Strike Two, you’ll understand why! Here is the Author’s Note from the new book:
I respect all religions and religious traditions to the extent that they can be uplifting to people, give them hope and strength through the inevitable difficult times in their life, and provide a path to salvation and the afterlife, if that belief is part of their religious practice. I also respect agnosticism, altruism, and atheism as philosophies, recognizing that anyone who is not a member of an organized religion or faith community can worship, or not worship, in their own individual way. I do not value those aspects of religions and religious practices that marginalize and subjugate individuals or groups. I do not respect violence in the name of religion.
I was brought up within the Roman Catholic tradition and practice. I often wonder how I would now, as a mature adult, view the world if I had been brought up in a different faith, for example the Muslim faith; the creed of my grandfather. Or as a Jew, or Heaven forbid….as a Protestant! I have never bought into the concept that Heaven is the exclusive death-right of Catholics, or even Christians, or even humans, for that matter. If all my dogs are not in Heaven when I get there, I won’t want to stay!
In Samsara Interrupted I hope to portray one man’s accidental, and at times, irreverent, spiritual journey into Buddhism, a religious tradition that was completely foreign and exotic to Peter Dunn. Peter’s exposure to the teachings of the Buddha were very limited and seen through the lens of an American man raised within a Judeo-Christian culture. It is unrealistic to expect he would gain anything beyond the most rudimentary understanding of actual Buddhism. Peter was abruptly and unexpectedly thrust into an internal debate about the afterlife. It could be seen as a cautionary tale for anyone who has waited too long to consider their ultimate fate, and what they could have done to change their lot in life.
By the end of his spiritual journey he was left with more questions than answers; much the same as anyone who embarks on such a journey.
~THS
December, 2021
The Dr. Adrian Tinsley Award is given to the BSU graduate who has demonstrated outstanding artistic achievement or whose leadership has been exemplary in the preservation and promotion of the arts. Author, drummer, conductor, songwriter and psychotherapist, @TimHassett-Salley, G’83, G’86, definitely ticks all the boxes. Read more about Tim here: https://alumni.bridgew.edu/.../alumni-services/tinsleyaward.
Thank you BSU/AA for honoring me with this award!
Providence College Podcast 1/25/2021 features:
Tim’s career culminating in Strike Two, You’re Out
Over the four decades since he graduated from PC, Tim Hassett-Salley ’81 put both his majors to good use. The psychology and music double major is a psychotherapist, an executive in the workers’ compensation and disability management industry, and also plays in a band. The Plymouth, Mass., resident recently published a novel, Strike Two, You’re Out, which draws on some of his experiences as a therapist, and includes a song he composed for the book. (click the link below for the podcast….)
Interview with PACTV’s Dan Bell
