Drifting Too Far From Shore

DRIFTING TOO FAR FROM SHORE is Michael Spalding's true story about 50 years of life encumbered by undiagnosed Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD).

Born in Britain in 1949, the son of a famous scientist, his initial schooling was an abject disaster. So, as a teenager, he was sent away to a unique coeducational boarding school in Yorkshire, returning to London four years later, considerably happier, yet still woefully undereducated. However, the distractions of 1960s England undermined any further educational endeavors. Several trips to Russia expanded his horizons but not his credentials. Alcohol and treachery combined to destroy his engagement to the beautiful Curate's daughter.

Working and drinking in London and Paris, one ludicrous episode followed another. At twenty-three, he decided to escape city life and hitchhiked off to a hippie commune on the backside of a Greek Island in the Aegean Sea. Nine months later, the lure of the family business pulled him from the beach back to London. But not for long. Soon he was off again, this time to Corsica and a flirtation with the French Foreign Legion. Then to Italy for encounters with a novice nun, a stigmata-plagued Priest and a werewolf. Later in Stockholm, Sweden he callously discarded the love of a young Scandinavian girl. From old world to new, he rambled on from the ivory tower of Harvard to the plain old ivory of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan and down to the jungles of southern Mexico.

When he rejoined the family business, the success of the global enterprise brought with it family conflict, ultimately pitting father against son. With fortunes at stake, squabbling escalated into multi-million dollar lawsuits. From out of the aftermath came enlightenment. Mental disorders were uncovered and addressed, ultimately leading to university and success.

Born and educated (sort of) in England, Michael Spalding left for mainland Europe in 1975. Two years later, he ended up in Alabama by way of Corsica, Italy, Sweden, Canada and Mexico.

He finally went to college in 1998, graduating from the University of Alabama with a degree in business.