"A Catch to Savor"
WELCOME TO TUNAFISCH PUBLISHING
This website features our publication
Dutch Preacher Boy:
Coming of Age in Grand Rapids, Taking Wing Beyond
by "Tuna Fisch"
pen name of John Kommerinus Tuinstra.
BOOK
DUTCH PREACHER BOY
-A MEMOIR-
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Race with the clock, Mexican border intrigue, threats in the jungle, sexual awakening, athletic fields of battle, heroes, tragedies, escapes, encounters with notables, hilarity, playful banter,
history, social commentary, serious reflection.
The author's life is replete with
"Forrest Gump" moments,
as he swims alongside the reader
with and against the religious tide,
in a journey toward the truly human.
Thought-provoking, entertaining, uplifting.
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EDITORIAL REVIEW
"An unpredictable and deeply compelling memoir. The author’s unforgettable childhood sets the tone for the story, summoned by a razor-sharp memory and the ability to paint rich and immersive scenes. The subsequent challenges he faces with his own faith and future add even more depth and uncertainty to his life’s arc, making it impossible not to root for his success. Dutch Preacher Boy is a masterfully penned memoir, inviting readers to witness a life through a fresh set of eyes, and to gain valuable insights that are universally relevant, regardless of religion, ethnicity, profession, or age." Self-Publishing Review ★★★★
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"In this masterfully penned memoir hilarity, pathos and adventure intersect with liberating politics, religion and psychology. Thought-provoking, entertaining, uplifting."
An "Independent Press Listing" (Co-Publisher BookBaby),
The New York Review of Books (April 21,2022, page 51)
READERS SPEAK
A fun-filled Coming of Age memoir, with fascinating 'Forrest Gump moments'. Personal history and global history meet as the author happens to be in the right place (or wrong place) at the right (or wrong) time.
Truly enjoyable and gets you thinking. (Five Stars)
'Charles'
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Not only good humor, but The Challenge: If we're not here to help each other, then why are we here?
This is a theme I see running throughout these wonderful stories. It's a probing question,
ever relevant, and much needed in our world today. And by 'help', it is clear to me he means:
Do good, never harm. (Five Stars)
'Avid Reader'
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I always enjoy books that make me feel like I'm sitting down having a conversation with the author.
He describes his life in a folksy and self-effacing fashion. His liberal attitudes toward religion sit well
with my own agnostic spirituality. He chose to become a preacher in the "dogmatic, restrictive
Christian Reformed Church" of his youth because he wanted "to see it open up to the world, no longer
running roughshod over individual conscience." I excommunicted myself from the Catholic church
because of its judgmental dogma. I'm pleased that leaders like Mr. Tuinstra along with, for example, (Episcopal) Bishop John Shelby Spong have long ago turned away from such rigidity. (Five Stars)
'Ciecheesemeister' (OnlineBookClub.org)
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To the world you may be one person;
But to one person you may be the world.