AUTHOR MARK MERKLEY
SANDRA’S SYNDROME
An Uncommon Love Story of True-Life Fiction
About the Book
First in the Series
Secrets are cruel challenges.
Especially a secret God gave Sandra that not even He can accept and refuses to tolerate. Sandra is a Mormon girl, but this story is not about Mormons. It is about an explosive secret, racial bigotry, superstition, and bias toward uncommon people-a mixture with the power to transform humanity.
Humorous, thoughtful, sensual, and a gripping page-turner to the end, Sandra’s Syndrome gives readers a beloved heroine at a time when humankind needs one like never before. June 8, 1978, a historic date for an entire church that attempted to end racism. For Sandra, it was the first day of battle to end separation and segregation for all special children of God … and you won’t believe the miraculous conclusion.
A love story of true-life fiction.
About the Author
Mark Merkley is an author and retired university instructor. He has a MA and BA in Organizational and Interpersonal Communication from Brigham Young University. Mark was trained formally as a technical writer and has recently delved into the world of creative writing. He believes that humor within creative storytelling possesses greater emotional opportunity to provide readers personal understanding of characters and their experience with complex issues.
An avid reader, Mark first got his inspiration for Sandra’s Syndrome from a character in Kathy Reichs’ bestselling novel, Bones Never Lie. After spending several years cultivating the idea in his head, he decided to start writing it down two days after his retirement. It is controversial. However, religion and science must engage common ground to understand the misunderstood and accept the uncommon. That common ground is the battlefield for the victory of social acceptance and inclusion.
When Mark is not behind a computer, he spends his time playing softball and basketball, and enjoys puzzles and decision-making problems. He is also known for hosting parties and game nights for his friends. They bond over their love for travel, new experiences, fine tastes, and adventure. Love and acceptance are consistent.
About the Author
Mark Merkley is an author and retired university instructor. He has a MA and BA in Organizational and Interpersonal Communication from Brigham Young University. Mark was trained formally as a technical writer and has recently delved into the world of creative writing. He believes that humor within creative storytelling possesses greater emotional opportunity to provide readers personal understanding of characters and their experience with complex issues.
An avid reader, Mark first got his inspiration for Sandra’s Syndrome from a character in Kathy Reichs’ bestselling novel, Bones Never Lie. After spending several years cultivating the idea in his head, he decided to start writing it down two days after his retirement. It is controversial. However, religion and science must engage common ground to understand the misunderstood and accept the uncommon. That common ground is the battlefield for the victory of social acceptance and inclusion.
When Mark is not behind a computer, he spends his time playing softball and basketball, and enjoys puzzles and decision-making problems. He is also known for hosting parties and game nights for his friends. They bond over their love for travel, new experiences, fine tastes, and adventure. Love and acceptance are consistent.
Editorial Reviews
For decades, I lived in tight strictures, believing that everything must fit into its specific nook or cranny. But Mark Merkley’s novel, Sandra’s Syndrome, confronted me with broader realities. It forced me to come to grips with the truth that gender identity does not always fit into a tight formula. Merkley introduced me to a character with a rare but not unique syndrome, and he brings the character to life, encouraging me to face the very real fears, struggles, and potentials that this character and others with the same syndrome experience in life. Sandra’s Syndrome grapples with an issue extremely pertinent to our society at this time. Opinions about this issue often result in stark divisions between people, but Merkley fills the book with love, and leaves the reader with hope that we might come to a place of deeper understanding of and compassion toward one another.
–Pastor Thomas Tripp
What a blockbuster! So many moving lines. Indeed, God is the narrator. I found it to be a real mystery page-turner. As a man who has battled with insecurity over the exclusion of who he is, I treasured the empathetic accounts of the pain and sadness of my LGBTQ brothers, sisters, and n-binaries. Mark is up-to-date on the genetics of gender identity. I’m sure the book will awaken religions and individuals to a greater sense of aliveness. Mark speaks boldly and lovingly about Mormonism. Attachment to tradition is serious – You have done for Mormons what Irshad Manji did for Islam and Bishop Spong did for Christianity. I am amazed and encouraged. Thank you.
–Tom Reemtsma
Praises for Sandra’s Syndrome