The Why Café
John P. Strelecky
reviewed by Karen Morse
"Sometimes when you least expect it,
and perhaps most need it, you
find yourself in a new place, with new people, and you learn new
things"
The Why Café is a story about just that. It opens with
protagonist
John heading off to a much needed vacation. When an overturned truck
brings traffic on the highway to a standstill, John takes a detour and
ends up getting hopelessly lost in the middle of nowhere. Just as he
is about to run out of gas, John happens across an interesting little
diner called The Why Café. When appetizing smells waft his way,
making John suddenly hungry, he decides to linger through what
promises to be a good meal instead of simply asking a friendly local
for directions back to the highway.
After settling down in a booth, John is confronted by a curious
message on the front of the diner's menu: "Prior to ordering, please
consult with our wait staff about what your time here could mean."
However,it is only after John notices the questions at the end of the
menu -- Why are you here? Do you fear death? Are you fulfilled? --
that he begins to realize that The Why Café might not be an
ordinary
diner and that this pit stop might just change his life.
With the help of waitress Casey, owner Mike, and diner-regular Anne,
John begins to learn what The Why Café is all about. He spends
eight
hours in the diner that night, discovering the importance and
implications of asking, "Why am I here?"
An allegorical story about discovering and embracing one's purpose in
life, The Why Café is more of a self help book than a novel.
Reading
it inspires a profoundly introspective mood so it is no surprise that
the book is garnering rave reviews on Amazon.com, despite its obtuse
narrator.
Originally published in 2003 as The Why Are You Here Café, The
Why
Café is consultant and motivational speaker John Stelecky's
first
book. It is being offered for this first time in hardcover this year
thanks to the ever-brave Da Capo Press.