Michael L. Salvador 
Peace of Mind 

When thirty-three-year-old Mark Sawyer loses his DJ job at K-Rock, he quickly rushes to visit an old high school friend at a run-down bar in Newark, New Jersey, called the Dive in hopes that captivating smile of hers will brighten his day. What he receives instead is a nonchalant comment that feels like a slap to his face: "You’re not a man, you’re just a boy." A phrase that not only came out of nowhere, but seems to haunt him everywhere he goes. Mark is now driven to reflect on his past: school – his radio career – relationships come and gone; searching where things may have gone wrong in life with help from his best friend, Lee Michaels. And as if that mental turmoil wasn’t enough, the added stress and conflict from Mark’s long-distance girlfriend, Harley Knyght, as she waits for him to move to North Carolina so they can build a new life, is another roller-coaster relationship that could derail at any moment. Now Mark needs to convince Harley he is a man and not a boy, and decide where he belongs before it’s too late: living in the fast-paced society of New Jersey, a place he considers hell, or down in Emerald Isle, North Carolina, a place he considers paradise. Unfortunately, Mark’s decision may be more complex than he imagines. What can be holding him back on a decision that should be easy to make? Peace of Mind is a coming-of-age story where self-discovery is the key to salvation. Inspired by the doctrine of the Trinity, Mark Sawyer will slowly put the pieces of his life together in a way that will help him remember who he once was, and what he must do to achieve everlasting life in the Kingdom of God.