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About Restoration of Wood (Unabridged)

Restoration of Wood is a comedy set in Austin. Howard Goodson Woodley, whom everybody calls Wood, is a self-absorbed Anglo divorce lawyer in a law firm started by his grandfather, a three-time governor of Texas. Like his grandfather, Governor Goodson, Wood is a great sailor, but unlike his grandfather, he drinks and cusses too much and cheats on his wife Barbara Raye Bracken Woodley, known by her limited number of friends as BR. Wood and BR live separate lives. Instead of children, they have sailboats: Wood’s ISSA, an ancient wooden affair, and BR’s Legal Eagle, a modern, up to date fiberglass sloop. The Eagle is the faster boat, but Wood is the better sailor, and has won numerous yacht club Governor’s Cups racing on Lake Travis. BR wants a trophy of her own more than she wants Wood, and is in the process of divorcing him. While dodging a dinghy sailed by a young Latina girl, Perla Perez, Wood wrecks the ISSA by running into his own dock, and effectively locks himself out of his life. Perla turns out to be the daughter of Issa Perez, the Hispanic woman for whom Wood’s boat is named. It was built over 30 years ago by Wood’s governor grandfather and Issa’s migrant father, Javier Perez, working together. In their late teens, Wood and Issa fell in love and had a liaison aboard the sailboat which resulted in Perla, the child Wood never knew he had. Javier takes Wood and the ISSA to his salvage yard across the lake, where he works on getting Wood and his disillusioned daughter reunited. Javier and his cadre of unusual confederates restore not only Wood’s boat, but his ability to love. Although Wood gets the chance to return to BR and his old life by letting her win the upcoming race for the Governor’s Cup, he follows a different wind, waves goodbye to BR, and sails toward happiness, his life restored by newly found family and friends.