scars serve as reminders

Scars Serve as Reminders by Will Appiah is the third and final installment of the ’Who Is Oliver Burke?’ trilogy. The story is the continuation of the critically acclaimed, The Angels Are Flying So Low, and brings readers through an emotional reconnection of two estranged best friends-separated by time, distance, and circumstance.

After more than three decades apart, we find two former best friends reunited in old age, both reflecting on their past and sharing stories of their lives since they were last connected. On one end is Lenny McNair who found his life derailed due to a misguided desire, poor decisions, and several negative influences-which he couldn’t seem to escape. On the other end is Oliver Burke who held anger toward Lenny because of the way his own life turned out and the feeling of abandonment he blames his friend for. As Oliver learns more about Lenny’s story, he realizes how their trials and tribulations ran parallel and uses that as his beacon towards forgiveness. During their prolonged conversation, each of them shares the compelling truths of their own perils, and heartaches, and finds themselves at the crossroads of a major decision that will affect the future of many. A decision that will give one man something to hold on to while giving the other something he needs to move on.