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Tricks of the Mind
When Eugenia Wren retired from her job teaching air force officers how to write a business memo, she chose to downsize and move to a fish camp because when she looked out from cabin number 6, the rolling river was a better view than what she saw flashing by a computer screen.
A linguist by vocation, Dr. Wren had spent a good portion of her life staring at a screen, and she wanted to see the world differently. The sight of the water calmed her, and she chose that feeling of unhurried calm over the hurried pushing of fast-moving images on a computer screen.
It took her body a while to adjust to this new pace.
And when she did, her new life of peace and beauty did not last for long.
While writing in her journal the newest resident of the fish camp experienced an internal blip. If she had been a computer someone could have unplugged her and plugged her back into reset her internal systems, but Eugenia Wren was not a computer. She was human, and the blip she experienced took her to a different place inside herself and to different places in the world where she was treated as someone who now had a disability.
That life of living with a disability became a new way of seeing the world and a new way of experiencing not only the world but her own humanity.
This is her story of finding her own humanity in a time when Artificial Intelligence challenges users of it to question whether being human is a kind of weakness rather than a potential source of learning your greatest strengths of what it means to be alive and live among other people who want to experience an authentic existence.
For readers who are interested in the evolution of human consciousness, Tricks of the Mind explores the mind-body connection of not only illness to healing but validates that mechanical tools which support human endeavors but are not an authentic substitute for life itself.
About the author: Daphne Simpkins is best known for her series of books about church ladies of the South featuring Mildred Budge and friends. But she has for the past twenty years or more also been writing about caregiving. This time, she writes about caregiving from the point of view of the person needing care. Other titles that exploring the gifts of caregiving include What Al Left Behind, Blessed, Belle, a Mildred Budge Friendship Story, and most recently her Christmas theme novel A Gentle and Lowly Christmas.
Her Mildred Budge novels celebrate church life in the South.
Those books
Mildred Budge in Cloverdale book 1
Mildred Budge in Embankment book 2
The Bride’s Room book 3
Kingdom Come book 4
A series of shorter works containing short stories featuring Mildred Budge and friends
Miss Budge In Love
The Mission of Mildred Budge
Miss Budge Goes to Fountain City
A spin-off series featuring characters from the Mildred Budge series
Belle, a Mildred Budge Friendship story book 1
A Gentle and Lowly Christmas book 2
To keep up with Daphne Simpkins’ newest releases follow her on Amazon.
A linguist by vocation, Dr. Wren had spent a good portion of her life staring at a screen, and she wanted to see the world differently. The sight of the water calmed her, and she chose that feeling of unhurried calm over the hurried pushing of fast-moving images on a computer screen.
It took her body a while to adjust to this new pace.
And when she did, her new life of peace and beauty did not last for long.
While writing in her journal the newest resident of the fish camp experienced an internal blip. If she had been a computer someone could have unplugged her and plugged her back into reset her internal systems, but Eugenia Wren was not a computer. She was human, and the blip she experienced took her to a different place inside herself and to different places in the world where she was treated as someone who now had a disability.
That life of living with a disability became a new way of seeing the world and a new way of experiencing not only the world but her own humanity.
This is her story of finding her own humanity in a time when Artificial Intelligence challenges users of it to question whether being human is a kind of weakness rather than a potential source of learning your greatest strengths of what it means to be alive and live among other people who want to experience an authentic existence.
For readers who are interested in the evolution of human consciousness, Tricks of the Mind explores the mind-body connection of not only illness to healing but validates that mechanical tools which support human endeavors but are not an authentic substitute for life itself.
About the author: Daphne Simpkins is best known for her series of books about church ladies of the South featuring Mildred Budge and friends. But she has for the past twenty years or more also been writing about caregiving. This time, she writes about caregiving from the point of view of the person needing care. Other titles that exploring the gifts of caregiving include What Al Left Behind, Blessed, Belle, a Mildred Budge Friendship Story, and most recently her Christmas theme novel A Gentle and Lowly Christmas.
Her Mildred Budge novels celebrate church life in the South.
Those books
Mildred Budge in Cloverdale book 1
Mildred Budge in Embankment book 2
The Bride’s Room book 3
Kingdom Come book 4
A series of shorter works containing short stories featuring Mildred Budge and friends
Miss Budge In Love
The Mission of Mildred Budge
Miss Budge Goes to Fountain City
A spin-off series featuring characters from the Mildred Budge series
Belle, a Mildred Budge Friendship story book 1
A Gentle and Lowly Christmas book 2
To keep up with Daphne Simpkins’ newest releases follow her on Amazon.
196 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 5, 2024
42 people are currently reading
7 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 21, 2025
Really bizarre book. Had no idea what the plot/narrative was until finally I read a review of the book which told me a lot more than I could decipher through the book. But still, that synopsis
( on Amazon) was a stretch. My own take is this was a story of a lady’s descent into dementia following a stroke and finding her way back to reality — told from the perspective of the lady herself. But I have no idea if thats what the author was trying to say or if that is my own made up interpretation. As I first said, this was Tyrell a bizarre read.
( on Amazon) was a stretch. My own take is this was a story of a lady’s descent into dementia following a stroke and finding her way back to reality — told from the perspective of the lady herself. But I have no idea if thats what the author was trying to say or if that is my own made up interpretation. As I first said, this was Tyrell a bizarre read.
November 10, 2024
Whispersynced on KU/Audible (VV).
DNF. I’m not sure if it’s the AI virtual reader or the subject of AI in the story or just the writing. I read 60% of this book and didn’t care for it. My first Daphne Simpkins book was a delight. This is not delightful. I can read hard, difficult subject matter IF it’s well-written. What happened? I wish I knew, because THIS was an utter disappointment.
DNF. I’m not sure if it’s the AI virtual reader or the subject of AI in the story or just the writing. I read 60% of this book and didn’t care for it. My first Daphne Simpkins book was a delight. This is not delightful. I can read hard, difficult subject matter IF it’s well-written. What happened? I wish I knew, because THIS was an utter disappointment.
October 13, 2024
A Unique Story
The author does a beautiful job of exploring the mind of a woman who is existing in limbo between the real world and the world as real in her mind. I also enjoyed another novel by the same author, but the two stories and their heroines could not be more dissimilar.
The author does a beautiful job of exploring the mind of a woman who is existing in limbo between the real world and the world as real in her mind. I also enjoyed another novel by the same author, but the two stories and their heroines could not be more dissimilar.
November 21, 2024
a nice memory
Going gently into the quiet room by the river, meeting people and making new memories. Pondering the meaning of memory.
Going gently into the quiet room by the river, meeting people and making new memories. Pondering the meaning of memory.
October 31, 2024
This is a very insightful read, one that impacts the way you see your future, and the way you appreciate those experiencing the mental/physical effects of advancing age. I wish everyone would read this book, as we all need to respect those who are in their later years.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews