Local author highlights joy of life during difficult year

Given the difficult year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, related lockdowns and subsequent mental-health struggles for many people, a Leamington author hopes a recent book he has written can help illustrate what to truly value in life.

Chris Forman, a 51-year-old bartender, has taken a variety of true stories from his own life, which he believes can help steer people to focus on how much good each of us have in our own lives.

His self-published book True Wealth can serve as a great anecdote for many suffering with negative thoughts during the difficult past year when people have remained out of work due to business closures or faced physical and mental-health struggles due to the ongoing virus pandemic.

“Being a bartender really puts you in tune with a lot of people,” said Forman, a bartender at a Kingsville brewery, who himself is presently out of work due to the lockdown. “With the pandemic upending people's lives, I just tried to write something to make people feel better despite the circumstances.

“I care about people and try to provide something to help them feel good about their lives and feel reason for hope.”

His real-life short stories in the book tried to show how there is still much to enjoy in life despite a lockdown. His message through the title is people are already wealthy in so many ways besides financial.

“There are so many things that are out there that can make you feel already wealthy, but maybe you just not realize it,” Forman said.

It is the second book for Forman, who penned a book in the summer on how people can emerge from the pandemic when it's over.

True Wealth can be found online on Amazon under its title or Forman's name.