Chuck Trunks

Writer, artist, living in the here and now in Nampa, Idaho

[Chuck Trunks @chuck_trunks]

Here’s the link to the story: https://t.co/n77LG99g26 It’s on the “about page” on my website (trunksart).

[Chuck Trunks @chuck_trunks]

I came up with the idea to write “First Day (of Enlightenment)” after reading Hermann Hesse’s novel, Demian (1919), a coming-of-age story that follows ten-year-old Emil Sinclair from his elementary school days to his first year of university studies. As he transitions…

[Chuck Trunks @chuck_trunks]

I’m convinced that my interest in true stories about World War II stems from a fact-gathering gene located on my Y chromosome—somewhere between the gene that prevents me from asking for help and the one that stops me from talking about my feelings. Having read Bill O’Reilly’s…

[Chuck Trunks @chuck_trunks]

“Gripping discomfort.” That’s how I described how I felt 10 years ago while watching a community theater’s adaptation of Elizabeth Taylor’s and Richard Burton’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966). It’s the same two-word description I’d offer if asked how I felt while…

[Chuck Trunks @chuck_trunks]

I didn’t begin reading books about the path to enlightenment until after I had already found my own. How could I, when I didn’t even know what was happening to me? Despite exiting this world before I was born, Hermann Hesse (1877–1962) is one of those authors who, from his…

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Here’s a link to Tired of Tipping: https://t.co/Kk2pdrgzGg

[Chuck Trunks @chuck_trunks]

“Why am I even here?” I chided myself, thinking I could be at home, eating a grilled cheese sandwich with a bowl of tomato soup. Despite my better judgement—or perhaps due to a craving for empanadas—I decided to treat myself to lunch, a rare indulgence for someone like me, who…

[Chuck Trunks @chuck_trunks]

@MelissaJus13355 Not following. Is your comment in reference to a post?

[Chuck Trunks @chuck_trunks]

An excerpt from Chapter 5: My modus operandi was always the same. If our initial phone conversation was going well, I’d find out about her availability and willingness to meet before saying, “I’ll come up with a plan and text you sometime tomorrow.” By this time in the online…

[Chuck Trunks @chuck_trunks]

Everything Changes(2005) is one of six novels by Jonathan Tropper, an American author, writer, and producer, who first came into my life 11 years ago, at a time when I felt all hope was lost. Back then, not knowing who Jonathan Tropper was, I picked out his novel, This Is Where..

[Chuck Trunks @chuck_trunks]

Have you noticed the undeniable surge in the number of people owning dogs?

After conducting over ten years of field research for this book, amassing 30,000 bike miles and 10,000 foot miles while doing so, and interviewing hundreds of dog-owning people who trusted me with…

[Chuck Trunks @chuck_trunks]

“Let’s make America great again” naturally implies the United States no longer possesses the qualities that once made this country a beacon of hope, prosperity, decency, and freedom. I can imagine walking into a Walmart Supercenter—this century’s version of a town square—and…

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To read more on Amazon, click this link: https://t.co/HdmNIFxZrH

[Chuck Trunks @chuck_trunks]

In one way or another, we’re all suffering. If your particular burden wasn’t handed to you by fate or your own unfortunate choices, then it was forced upon you by a cold-hearted ruling class that prioritizes profit margins above compassion, empathy, and even common decency…

[Chuck Trunks @chuck_trunks]

To read more on Amazon, click this link: https://t.co/kPRRNVV6oj

[Chuck Trunks @chuck_trunks]

An excerpt from Chapter 6 (Columbia Bound):

To me, the best attributes of being human are like stars we can see in the night sky. If you were with me, I’d point at a cluster of stars just above the trees on the other side of the pond and say, “Look over there! You can see…

[Chuck Trunks @chuck_trunks]

When I discovered that Hermann Hesse’s The Journey to the East (1932) was written as a follow-up to his famous novel, Steppenwolf(1927), a book I finished reading just last month, I was intrigued, expecting a continuation of the life and times of his despairing alter ego…

[Chuck Trunks @chuck_trunks]

Had I read John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath (1939) in high school, college, or even 20 years ago, I would’ve said, “Thank goodness those wretched days are behind us.” But after finishing this most famous book yesterday, I now understand the French aphorism, “The more things…”

[Chuck Trunks @chuck_trunks]

An excerpt: “When I first met you,” Fitz continued, “you seemed like a normal caterpillar—a little too serious and particular for my taste, but I liked you anyway. Back then, you were married, had a nine-to-five job, and lived in a house you owned. You used to do things…

[Chuck Trunks @chuck_trunks]

I finally got my chance to read a Hunter S. Thompson (1937-2005) book when I saw The Rum Diary (1998) on the same library shelf containing works by Thoreau, Tolkien, and Twain. Up until that moment of discovery, most of what I had heard about the controversial author convinced…

[Chuck Trunks @chuck_trunks]

A year ago, I discovered the word “Steppenwolf” is more than just the name of a 1960s rock band responsible for the iconic counterculture anthem “Born to Be Wild.” Steppenwolf (1927) is also the title of one of Hermann Hesse’s most famous novels, an existential…