Juan and John:
Conversations on Life
and Tennis

SEEKING AGENT OR PUBLISHER

Juan and John: Conversations on Life and Tennis is a story of regrets, delayed second chances and hope after a fortuitous meeting over one summer. The book is a heart-warming, dual-timeline, reflective narrative that blends the teen perspective with the emotional and psychological wisdom of a man in midlife, weaving together a coming-of-age story with later midlife reflections that traverse both stages of life with resonance and compassion.

At the outset, the reader meets Juan, an eighteen-year-old boy from Colombia, as he starts his summer after high school graduation in the U.S. He navigates his faltering relationship with his girlfriend, dreams of professional and financial success, the stress of leaving the comfort of home for life at the university and reconstituting his tennis form. His chance meeting with John, a man in his mid-50s, and the friendship that builds over their summer at the tennis courts, shapes Juan’s view of life in ways that only become clear decades later. 

Interwoven in the story of Juan’s summer is Juan in midlife during a single walk as he anticipates a return visit to his hometown. He reflects on his divorce, the death of his college-age daughter and his relentless pursuit for wealth over happiness. Accompanied by his canine companion, Juan considers how life has turned out, the summer he met John, and how the wisdom John shared 40 years prior is the key to reclaiming his life. 

Juan comes to understand that life gives us what we need, the Universe just is, and teachers come in all shapes and forms, including on four legs with fur, and as it is in tennis, so it is in life.