UNA VIDA MOVES FORWARD

The last few weeks have brought the delightful news that my good friend and client Nick Bazan, M.D.’s novel and film, UNA VIDA, are both moving forward at last. The novel—check out this great cover—will appear end of the year from Five Star Publications, with Linda Radke, the publisher, hugely excited about its potential and Leeza Gibbons’ “Leeza’s Place,” dedicate to the families of Alzheimer’s victims, exploring a cross-promotional tie in with Dr. Bazan, who heads LSU’s Neuroscience Institute in New Orleans.

The story is a neuroscientist’s journey to discover, in the labyrinth of New Orleans culture, the labyrinthine pathways of the human mind by pursuing a mysterious musician whose voice remains enchanting despite the ravages of Alzheimer’s. Through clear dreams and obscure realities, the serendipitous quest of Dr. Alvaro Cruz leads to a breakthrough in Una Vida’s life and in his own as well.

At the same time that the novel is moving forward, Alan Roth, AEI client and creator of “Hang Time” and “One More for the Road,” is working on the “Una Vida” screenplay with Nick—hoping to have it ready for proceeding with the film in New Orleans at the first of the new year as well.

Stay tuned to my blog for more updates, and meanwhile check out Dr. Bazan’s UNA VIDA blog page here.

For more on Dr. Bazan’s groundbreaking scientific research, see his LSU page here.

“… a hero’s journey that leads a haunted neuroscientist through the mystery of jazz, the alleys of New Orleans … and the labyrinth of the mind.”

– Leeza Gibbons, founder of Leeza’s Place for the families of Alzheimer’s victims

WHAT IS THIS BOOK ABOUT?

In Dr. Nicolas Bazan’s brilliant first novel, neuroscientist Alvaro Cruz finds himself haunted by a recurring dream of a banjo player in an elusive cornfield that leads him on a personal quest to uncover the mysterious past of a New Orleans street singer known as Una Vida. Stricken with Alzheimer’s, Una Vida can only offer tantalizing clues about her past through her mesmerizing vocals, incredible recollection of jazz lyrics, and the occasional verbal revisiting of a fascinating life that’s fading quickly and forever into the recess of her mind. As Cruz searches for Una Vida’s true identity, he learns profound lessons about the human psyche, the nature of memory – and himself.

WHAT MAKES THIS BOOK UNIQUE?

Una Vida is filled with delightful twists and unexpected turns, all centering around one of the greatest gifts New Orleans has offered the world – jazz. But the story will also deeply touch anyone who has had to witness the heartbreaking deterioration of a loved one’s memory as it is consumed by the unforgiving encroachment of Alzheimer’s.

In the end, Una Vida represents a triumph of the spirit and sends an intensely personal message of hope to the world even as scientists like Dr. Bazan continue the search for the answers to one of life’s most devastating diseases.