From Grief to Glory: An "Otto"-Biography

Cataclysmic events, some representing life's most grievous tragedies, have struck Otto Rieke's family. Tragedy and grief, viewed retrospectively, have rendered the subsequent glory of life all the more glorious. Life would have been unlivable, and this book unreadable, were they a mere cosmic pity party. After enduring a full circle along the rim of hell on Earth; and having survived almost in tact, hopefully this book will portray the Riekes' ascension to the glory that has been most of the family's, and Otto's own precarious existence on planet Earth. The author's essentially privileged, fulfilling, and competitive existence (prior to the anguishing events of mid-life), are narrated fully from birth with a comedic flair, and did prepare him for the survival of the really "tough stuff". The Rieke's did not just endure it all, but have thrived, and have ascended time and again. Life continues as a search for the ultimate Truth, and for the Glory that is only God's to possess completely. The family lives to seek its share of that glory. It is Otto's hope that this book is fun and non-controversial. He has attempted to accomplish that by staying on topics about which he claims expertise: politics, religion, and sex. If anything he says offends you, then you need to, either: 1. Repent, OR, 2. Sue him He apologizes only to those who were not offended, but who should have been. The author further hopes that you take the "slight" as it was intended, and hurt all the more. However, seriously, it is also hoped that this book is as entertaining as the exuberant feeling that its writing experience has given Otto. Family is who the Rieke's are. Family is the root of our society, and the family home is the first and most important school that our children will forever attend. Our parents are the first and the most important teachers that our children will forever have. Otto's stunning, wonderful wife of an earlier twenty