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R.J. Cook

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rjcook52

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August 2014

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Born just two days before the arrival of summer, RjCook considers himself a child of the sun. Welcomed into a large, expanded family, nevertheless he experienced a lonely childhood. RjCook had questions but no one had answers, he was accused and guiltless, ambitious but thwarted. Life was a challenge to understand, and towards that endeavor he put pen to paper.

Above all else, writing was anathema, but was also healing. A young man thrust into a world tougher than he was found the power of words - combinations on paper he created - to be the motivation to move forward, to succeed. Young ladies were smitten by his poetry, presented as a gift. Fellow musicians (for that was another path he chose) were enamored of his prose used as lyrical acco Born just two days before the arrival of summer, RjCook considers himself a child of the sun. Welcomed into a large, expanded family, nevertheless he experienced a lonely childhood. RjCook had questions but no one had answers, he was accused and guiltless, ambitious but thwarted. Life was a challenge to understand, and towards that endeavor he put pen to paper.

Above all else, writing was anathema, but was also healing. A young man thrust into a world tougher than he was found the power of words - combinations on paper he created - to be the motivation to move forward, to succeed. Young ladies were smitten by his poetry, presented as a gift. Fellow musicians (for that was another path he chose) were enamored of his prose used as lyrical accompaniment to their compositions. Employers discovered his gift of clarity in the general text in product descriptions, instructional formats, etc.

But these weren't RjCook's ambitions. He perceived himself as a natural-born story teller, a "bullshitter" his friends called him, so he wrote and wrote, but soon discovered a drawback to this passion: he despised his writing!

While still young he knew his lack of talent would not pay the bills and with his own family to care for he searched for another life's calling. Forklift operator, truck driver, photographer, real estate salesman, advertising, layout artist, telephone company administrator: numerous careers that offered no more than a temporary fix to a wordsmith junkie. In each pursued career path, rising to the top was easy, often too rapid. Each management position, each supervisory role RjCook held would self-destruct, mostly, by his own admission to his own restless ambition.

But there was always the writing. Countless short stories, poems and random, besieged thoughts put to paper, stashed away, never to see the light of day again. He hated his writing, loathed it even. What RjCook heard in his head he could not get from his pen. But wasn't that the idea of good writing? To never accept anything as your best?

Whatever it was supposed to mean was not relevant to his acrimonious disposition. Writing was necessary, it was the opiate of his soul, the thread to his needle. It wasn't until years later his work would find its place in a memoir of his earlier years, and as a monthly column in an online Internet magazine. But it still evoked a bitter pill RjCook swallowed to let others read his work.

It is for his children, his grandchildren, and the Mrs. A legacy he will leave behind for them. The reason and the chosen path forward are clear: RjCook needs to write. These days, he finds much of his time engrossed with his monthly column, The Life Around Me, featured in the online magazine hREALITY Land. www.hRLand.net.

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R.J. Cook’s books

Average rating: 3.52 · 33 ratings · 1 review · 2 distinct works

	The Road Behind Me: The Lie of Hannah 3.52 avg rating — 33 ratings — published 2014 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Advances in Soil Science: Dryland Agriculture: Strategies for Sustainability Volume 13 by R.R. Allen (Contributor), A.U. Bhatti (Contributor), W.R. Butcher (Contributor) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Rj is Currently Reading

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The Heart of Darkness

by Joseph Conrad

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Oct 24, 2025 06:11AM

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Nothing But the Blues: The Music and the Musicians

by Lawrence Cohn

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Jul 27, 2025 05:00PM

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Egyptian Hieroglyphs for Complete Beginners

by Bill Manley

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Jan 24, 2024 12:24PM

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Rj Cook is currently reading The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Rj Cook rated a book liked it Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Diane Johnson (Introduction) by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Rj Cook rated a book liked it The Unvanquished: The Corrected Text by William Faulkner	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Rj Cook rated a book liked it In Our Time by Ernest Hemingway	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Rj Cook rated a book it was amazing The Gangs of New York by Herbert Asbury	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Rj Cook rated a book it was amazing Brother Robert: Growing Up with Robert Johnson by Annye C. Anderson	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Rj Cook rated a book it was amazing And a Voice to Sing With by Joan Baez	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Rj Cook rated a book really liked it And the Beat Goes On by Sonny Bono	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Rj Cook rated a book liked it Trust Your Heart by Judy Collins	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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