Chosen

That's the name of north central Montanan Paul. J. Caden's book & it packs a powerful punvh along with a truly uplifting message.. It IS an action packed & relatively fast read at 179 pages...I read the entire book while on a Great Falls to Minneapolis flight last summer. I met Paul last June when he was doing a book signing down at Barnes & Noble in Great Falls. I don't know where to begin, but I guess a good place would be as "Chosen" commences as young Paul's miserable life begins...in a small north central Montana town here in the Golden Triangle. "Chosen" doesn't mention the town by name but with it's location near a river & a water tank with the town's initial of it's name high atop this tank, it ain't hard to figure out. I won't spoil it for you, you'll have to read Paul's true life saga & figure it out for yourself. To say this kid had one miserable, unbelievable, hideous life is an understatement. Young Paul was born out of wedlock & drawn into physical & psychological torture, incestuous relationships, & near death experiences. And these were on his "GOOD days"! Paul eventually gets sucked down to the depths of Hell by his own addictions to sex & alcohol...& not necessarily in that order...there's also drugs but no mention of rock n' roll however! Only when Paul hits rock bottom does he find God AND himself. As Paul points out, he would not have become the person he is today (he's currently a Sergeant these days at an Correctional facility here in  central Montana), had he not sustained such maltreatment & abuse in his life. True perhaps, but what a learning curve! Paul J. Caden these days is involved in Voices of Hope, which is a suicide prevention hot line & he is a sexual abuse advocate for victims. He is in the speaker's bureau for RAINN. (RAINN is a Rape Abuse Incest National Network). Paul was a Great Falls police officer for 5 years & besides being a fantastic thrilling personal journey, I would think this book would do many people some real good in more ways than one. It leaves one thinking long after finishing the final chapter & resonates with the reader the way few books do. Look for "Chosen: An Inspirational Story" on Amazon.com. I would also assume Barnes & Noble might still have some copies available. Paul has a website & I would be happy to pass it along in a future Puffman Blog. & Paul, good luck in your life, you deserve it!