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The Fountain

Second Chance, Book 1

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The Fountain

By: John A. Heldt
Narrated by: Roberto Scarlato
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About this listen

Portland, Oregon. In May 2022, the Carpenters are a sad lot. Bill, 81, has just buried his beloved wife. Paul, 75, has terminal lung cancer. Annie, 72, is a paraplegic with broken dreams. Childless and directionless, the siblings face an uncertain future in their childhood home. Then Bill, a retired folklore professor, learns from a dying man that the legendary Fountain of Youth, his obsession for decades, may be more than a myth. He races to Mexico to find the truth.

Within weeks, the Carpenters, with nothing to lose, enter a mysterious cave and exit in July 1905 as healthy young adults. They begin new lives in Oakland, California, only vaguely aware of a devastating earthquake that will rock the San Francisco Bay Area on April 18, 1906.

In The Fountain, the first book in the Second Chance trilogy, three siblings find opportunity, romance, and heartbreak as they make the most of a new lease on life.

©2022, 2023, 2024 John A. Heldt (P)2025 John A. Heldt Family Life Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Heartfelt

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Listener received this title free

The title refers to the route taken by three siblings who all have problems in present time and take a leap of faith to change their lives. It cures their ailments, makes them younger and brings them back in time to 1905. Most of the action takes place in the San Franscisco bay area. We hear how they parlay their knowledge and maturity into becoming superstars in the educational system despite their lack of qualifications. Their imperfect memories of the earthquake and fire in 1906 cause them anxiety and peril as well as to those they like and love. There are romantic attachments, but this is not a romance genre as not all endings are happy. I haven't given the full five stars because the keeping of their time travel secret is unlikely given the intimacy of the relationships formed, their preparation would have included researching some key dates and incidents and the anachronism of them having children before they were born is skirted over.

The narrator made it sound emotionally appropriate and rendered both male and female voices, but the latter were not well differentiated so you have to rely on context to know who is speaking.

I received a free copy and am leaving this review voluntarily.

Time travel trio of siblings start over.

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Listener received this title free

The Fountain offers a tender and imaginative take on second chances. Elderly siblings—Bill, Paul, and Annie—each burdened by loss, illness or disability, discover the mythic Fountain of Youth and are transported back to 1905, rejuvenated and ready to rewrite their stories. Heldt’s strength lies in his characters: their bond, regrets, humor, and hopes feel genuine. The historical backdrop—particularly the looming 1906 San Francisco earthquake—adds a tension that keeps things moving. However, the setting sometimes feels under-evoked; details of turn-of-the-century life could be more vivid. Still, it’s a moving saga about love, courage, and what it means to live again.

Dragged a bit at beginning but persevere all becomes good

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