The Fountain cover art

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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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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