About V Le Chenz

  He never wanted a dog. But one dog changed everything.

In a world obsessed with wagging tails and unconditional love, one man stands apart, haunted by childhood memories of a German Shepherd named Tonto and the emotional wreckage left in its wake. Alienated from his dog-loving circle, he wrestles with grief, identity, and the quiet ache of disconnection.

But when illness strikes and life begins to unravel, an unexpected companion arrives: Jett, a scrappy Jack Russell Terrier with a defiant spirit and a gift for chaos. What begins as reluctant caretaking becomes a reckoning, with the past, with pain, and with the possibility of joy.

  One summer. One bee. One man’s reckoning with grief, memory, and the fragile beauty of life.

Set in the quiet hills of New Hampshire, this deeply personal narrative unfolds like a whispered confession, an elegy for a beloved grandfather and a meditation on the invisible threads that bind us to place, family, and self. When “Gramps” dies, the author’s world fractures. What follows is not just mourning, but a slow unraveling of identity, purpose, and emotional armor.

From the solitude of a back porch, the author reflects on the chaos of summer and the serenity of nature, until a trapped carpenter bee becomes an unexpected catalyst. Its futile struggle, dignified, desperate, mirrors his own. In that moment, compassion collides with indifference, and buried sorrow rises to the surface.

Through vivid memories of Gramps’ wartime resilience and quiet wisdom, and tender observations of his grandson’s empathy, the author begins to stitch together a new understanding of legacy. This is a story about the weight of small things, a bee trap, a porch chair, a fleeting summer breeze,and the way they carry our deepest truths.

For readers drawn to lyrical storytelling, emotional vulnerability, and the quiet power of reflection, this book offers a haunting, hopeful journey into what it means to grieve, to love, and to live with intention.

  Hotboxed at ten. Hooked on chaos. A brutally honest coming-of-age in the haze of the ’70s and ’80s.

It’s Glenville, 1977. The windows are up, the summer heat is suffocating, and ten-year-old V is riding in the back of a car thick with marijuana smoke. That moment, equal parts absurd and formative, marks the beginning of a childhood steeped in contact highs, dysfunctional family dynamics, and a search for clarity in a world that rarely offered it.

This candid memoir pulls no punches. From awkward crushes and hockey skates to missed chances and musical obsessions, V recounts a youth shaped by the haze of cannabis and the emotional fog of unreliable parenting. His parents’ friendships, neighborhood rituals, and a dart-related family injury all paint a vivid portrait of a life lived on the edge of chaos and comedy.

With sharp wit and unflinching vulnerability, he explores how addiction, identity, and longing collided in the smoke-filled rooms of his adolescence, and how those early experiences echoed into adulthood through workplace camaraderie, romantic misfires, and moments of unexpected grace.

For readers who appreciate memoirs that are raw, reflective, and darkly funny, this is a story of growing up stoned, emotionally and literally, and finding meaning in the madness.

 He burned bridges before he knew how to build them. This is the story of what survived.

In this brutally honest, darkly funny memoir, one man traces the wreckage of his past, from friend burns and failed relationships to couch surfing and career misfires, and the long, winding road to redemption. Emotionally detached and socially self-sabotaging, he spent decades running from connection, haunted by a childhood shaped by abandonment and mistrust.

Growing up as a misfit in a working-class neighborhood, then dropped into a world of privilege, he never quite belonged anywhere. Bullied, awkward, and always on the fringe, he navigated adolescence with a soundtrack of ’70s rock, bad fashion, and quiet defiance. College and early adulthood brought more chaos: impulsive choices, broken hearts, and a dream-chasing stint in California’s entertainment scene that ended in burnout and regret.

Then came New Hampshire, after a decade of drift, and a move for love that didn’t last.  But somewhere in the wreckage, he found her: a woman who shattered his rigid expectations and became the anchor he never knew he needed. With her came family, purpose, and a chance to rewrite the story.