The Confessions of Socrates

Socrates sits chained to a wall in a small prison cell. In a month he will die of hemlock poisoning. At night, by the light of a tiny oil lamp, on rolls of paper smuggled in by loyal friends, he tells his three sons the story of his life.

He writes vividly about the people and events that shaped him as a person. The mother who encouraged his questions. Teachers who promoted the Greek ideals of courage and glory. Bloody battles. Lifelong friends lost and enemies made. Being proclaimed the world's wisest man.

Fearing his sons may follow in his ill-fated path, Socrates honestly reveals his thoughts and feelings, his successes and his failures, and his search for the answer to the ultimate question--how can I be happy?

R. L. (Rod) Prendergast's first novel, The Impact of a Single Event, was long-listed for literary fiction by the Independent Publisher Book Awards in 2009. The book became a bestseller in Canada. Rod's second novel, Dinner with Lisa, was awarded the 2012 Independent Publisher Book Awards Bronze Medal for Best Regional Fiction, Western Canada. Inspired by his son's inability to sleep through the night, Rod then wrote a children's story, Baby, Please go to Sleep. The Confessions of Socrates is his third novel and fourth book. Rod lives with his wife and son in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.