PRE-ORDER SECOND SET CHANCES!

PRE-ORDER SECOND SET CHANCES!

Heartfelt, honest, and threaded with humor, Second Set Chances challenges us to consider what happens when the life we’re living clashes with the one we secretly dream of. Will Rachael settle for the comfort of her desert mirage, or will she risk it all for a shot at true happiness?

Second Set Chances is an instantly relatable story that takes the reader through an emotional roller coaster. All of the Phish content is a bonus, but the real win is following Rachael's tale about uncertainty, confusion, adventure, and of course, love.

Brian Weinstein, host of Attendance Bias podcast

For four tumultuous years, Rachael and her husband, Jason, have seesawed between her small-town life in Pennsylvania and his roots in South Korea. Exhausted by the upheaval and yearning for stability, she pins her hopes on a fresh start in Las Vegas. But weeks before the big move, a Phish concert weekend—her happiest escape—brings her face-to-face with a long-lost college crush. The chance encounter feels like a cosmic nudge, but she’s determined to focus on the new life she’s painstakingly planned.

Las Vegas, however, proves anything but the clean slate she imagined. Struggling in her marriage and suffocated by the desert heat, Rachael finds herself seeking solace in Phish concerts, where the vibrant chaos of music and her resurfaced connection with her crush offer fleeting glimpses of joy. Torn between loyalty to the life she’s built and the magnetic pull of what might have been, Rachael straddles two worlds, making a tangled mess of both.

Heartfelt, honest, and threaded with humor, Second Set Chances challenges us to consider what happens when the life we’re living clashes with the one we secretly dream of. Will she settle for the comfort of her desert mirage, or will she risk it all for a shot at true happiness?

"Immensely readable, Second Set Chances perfectly captures what many of us are confronted with at midlife: questioning who we have been and the choices we have made. Placing that questioning inside the colorful, rich Phish universe helps the story come to life in a way that is engaging and unique. A great read for dedicated phans and those to whom this world remains a mystery."

-Megan Glionna - Writer, Podcaster, Teacher, Phish Phan 

  • "A relatable, instantly charming book! I finished reading it within a day, and found myself distracted trying to get anything else done. Rachael finds a way to describe her love for music (& the Phish scene in particular) that felt so familiar. While I have never seen the band perform live, I found myself listening to the live set from MSG in 2016 while I read this, smiling as I pictured dancing alongside my friends, The way that really spectacular music brings us together-so does Second Set Chances, and Ranael's honest journey towards living her truth as a strong woman in the world."

    Chrisi

  • It is always difficult to review a memoir, which makes me wonder how difficult it must be to write one!

    The book is a very bold & brutally honest account of the transformative years of the author’s life.

    The writing style is very personal & direct. In places, it was very relateable, & in places, not at all, but then, no two persons can completely relate to each other.

    The book started with a reference that it’s mainly about the author’s experience attending her favourite band’s concerts. Now, I know nothing about music, & have never experienced any outside of the subcontinent, & I was a little daunted, as this was different from what the blurbs said!

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  • …In the initial chapters, this effect was quite heavy, but the band is not all that is there to this book, …though it is a central theme, something the author identifies herself with, something which feels “home” to her. To that effect, her enthusiasm is heartfelt, & there is not need to know that music, or really any music for understanding the flow of the book.

    The theme & premise of the book is quite uncomfortable, & kudos to the author for grabbing the bull by the horns. It’s admirable of all her near & dear to agree to feature in a published book in personal detail!

    The book is very potent, at one time, I started feeling very low, & I think this is because I was feeling the emotions of the time when my own marriage was not going very well. It’s a powerful book in this context.

    It’s a roller-coaster ride with the author as she negotiates her way through life decisions which were theoretically promiosing but not delivering anything in practice. The suffocation of making efforts to make friends as & adult … & coming up empty-handed … the pain of drudging in one’s chosen profession… are truly touching.

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  • …The book is quite a serious one, with some comic relief here & there. Certainly, it will be an amazing treat for the fans of her favourite (possibly the only) band Phish … but for me it got a bit over the top in some places, & I felt like “I really did not need that detail”.

    I do not agree with all of the choices that the author made … which is quite an obvious common happening, but a memoir cannot be judged on the basis of agreeing or disagreeing with the author. It’s heartwarming the beautiful support she receives from her parents, but often it feels that her friends are irresponsible, & are more enablers than friends; edging her on on obviously messed-up & potentially hurtful courses of action.

    All in all, it’s a hell of a ride!

    It’s quite unputdownable, very, very real & you find yourself cheering the author on, to explore more, deeper, to get closer to understanding herself.

    & when the author is able to get where she is happy & herself, you feel happy for her, & it’s a great read!

    I received an ARC (Advance Reader Copy) of the book free of cost.