Just Say Hello
The Ordinary Dates of My Sometimes Difficult and Sometimes Remarkable (but Always Interesting) Days (and Nights)
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I am just a regular guy who I guess has been through a lot in one lifetime. I am not famous (although a Google search could reveal some of the events written about in this book). My friends have often told me that the many things I have been through, in what I see as my somewhat ordinary life, might make for a worthy story to share with others. So I have decided to tell that story, which may (or may not) help another person (or persons) who may (or may not) be just like me, i.e., a gay man who struggled with his sexuality and came out later in life; a person recovering from addiction as I have been since 1984; a parent of a child with special needs who passed away at the age of 22; a newly out gay parent who raised two other teens mostly on his own following a divorce; a bankruptcy lawyer who ended up filing his own bankruptcy case; an out gay man trying (and usually failing) to navigate the world of online "dating"; and a man who fell in love, for the first time, with another man at 60 and began making plans to move to a foreign country to start a new life with that man. My hope is that this story might resonate with others who have lived through similar experiences (it would be rather shocking to find another man who has been through all of the same things I have experienced) but the truth is that I wrote this book with no expectation of it ever being published or read by anyone.
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About the Book
The book is autobiographical. It is about many things, including family and growing up, raising and losing a child with special needs, marriage and divorce, single fatherhood, addiction and recovery, coming out after fifty, professionalism, bankruptcy, changing bad habits, and looking for love.
About the Author
Paul Orshan is an attorney living in Miami, Florida, where he was born and raised. He is the father of three. His oldest daughter, Amanda, who had severe special needs, passed away in 2015, and she was the impetus for this book. He raised his other two children Max and Emily mostly full-time following his divorce in 2008. He is a recovering person (twelve step) and clean for over thirty-three years. Following his divorce, he embraced his truth and came out as a gay man. Orshan has received numerous accolades and honors as a prominent bankruptcy attorney in his community. Unfortunately, facing a difficult financial situation after his divorce, he ended up having to file his own bankruptcy case. He loves to travel and is looking forward to exploring the world as he approaches the next phase of his life.