Read to Death blog is now private

To read my private blog, Read to Death, click here and request access.

The blog’s goal is share how reading leads a person to discover & dispel false opinions & beliefs, and to replace them with the truth.

This is a membership blog where I share my reading on a number of topics, including politics (sparingly), religion, and science.

The main question Read to Death attempts to answer is whether there is sufficient, credible evidence the Christian God exists. For the first sixty years of my life I would have answered with a definitive yes. Now, some eight years later, my response is the opposite, a definitive no.

However, I remain willing to change my mind when presented with sufficient, credible evidence. This is why reading, researching, relating, and recording is vital when one’s guiding star is following the evidence whereever it leads.

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Author: Richard L. Fricks

Writer, observer, and student of presence. After decades as a CPA, attorney, and believer in inherited purpose, I now live a quieter life built around clarity, simplicity, and the freedom to begin again. I write both nonfiction and fiction: The Pencil-Driven Life, a memoir and daily practice of awareness, and the Boaz, Alabama novels—character-driven stories rooted in the complexities of ordinary life. I live on seventy acres we call Oak Hollow, where my wife and I care for seven rescued dogs and build small, intentional spaces that reflect the same philosophy I write about. Oak Hollow Cabins is in the development stage (opening March 1, 2026), and is—now and always—a lived expression of presence: cabins, trails, and quiet places shaped by the land itself. My background as a Fictionary Certified StoryCoach Editor still informs how I understand story, though I no longer offer coaching. Instead, I share reflections through The Pencil’s Edge and @thepencildrivenlife, exploring what it means to live lightly, honestly, and without a script. Whether I’m writing, building, or walking the land, my work is rooted in one simple truth: Life becomes clearer when we stop trying to control the story and start paying attention to the moment we’re in.

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