A Tale of Two Wanderers Who Met, Then Met, and Then, Met Again

About the Book

This is a true love story, with the addition of some fantasy parts mainly related the role of a saint, St. Antonio of Padua, who has been a guide to the two lovers throughout the years. The story begins at Allegheny College in 1957 where Thomas and Madeleine meet. They become close, but then time and distance intervene to separate them for twenty years. The story resumes in 1977 with a single telephone call, then a dinner together, then a week in Portugal followed by endless travel between Switzerland and the USA and trips together all over the world. Thomas describes his years of medical research, military life, clinical practice, teaching, and loneliness in the years between the above dates. But, with that simple telephone call, everything changes. The love story begins. Thomas and Madeleine are married in 1985 then they settle in to the companionship phase of their life. Thomas closes the love story with some poems, nursery rhymes, and music he wrote during the many years of this adventure. All along, St. Antonio does his best to keep their love alive, and Thomas’s father, who had died in 1960, makes a small but timely intervention in New York City in 1962. St. Antonio is hoping that this story will help others to look at their own close relationships and perhaps call on him to help them along the way.

About the Author

Thomas C. Jones, MD (author) is emeritus adjunct professor of medicine at Weill-Cornell Medical College, New York. He lives with his wife in Basel, Switzerland. He has had an extensive career in medicine, clinical practice, research, and education. He trained in infectious diseases and international medicine. He has written three other books, been a medical journal editor, and written over two hundred scientific articles. This is his first fictional love story.