Lifeguard writes tell-all book

Do lifeguards have their pick of most any woman on the beach? Do they live a lifestyle of partying?
According to Alexander Jackson, 24, they do. The former Stone Harbor lifeguard gives an insider’s view in his book of fiction, Lost Paradise, A Lifeguard’s Tale.
The main character shares the same last name as the author, but Jackson calls the book a first hand account of the main character’s experience. The book describes Kyle Jackson’s loss of innocence and a coming of age, he said.
“He doesn’t know anything about anything,” said Jackson, of the character’s early days as a lifeguard.
The main character is almost shocked by what he sees at the beginning of the summer, but by the end, “he’s not only accepted it, he’s embraced it,” said Jackson.
Some of the escapades in the book won’t win accolades from lifeguard captains, such as sleeping off hangovers on the lifeguard stand while on duty and pranks such as “stand wars” where one guard sabotages another’s stand just short of permanent damage.
He writes of a “punishment beach” where guards were placed for misdeeds or being on the wrong side of lifeguard politics, and a “punishment guard,” singled out to be picked on and given the worst chores.
A few rescues of the foolish and unfortunate also spice up the book, including Jackson himself being saved after an encounter with a rock jetty.
Through most of the book, the main character runs from young woman to young woman, despite having a Russian girlfriend about to arrive from overseas. He also runs from one drinking event to another.
After a time, Jackson questions how he is living his life.
“Lost Paradise” is not a book for children to read as it takes the readers to parties where anything goes.
Jackson graduated from Middle Township High School in 2001 and began a five-year summer stint as a lifeguard, while studying economics and English at Rutgers. He began writing the book while seeking an M.A. in history at Montclair State University.
Jackson said he was supposed to be tutoring students, but nobody showed up and he was stuck in a library all day between two courses–one scheduled at 8 a.m. and the other at 8 p.m.
“I just started writing,” he said. “I was bored out of my mind.”
Jackson said he had no difficulty finding his publisher, and that a California movie producer has shown interest in buying rights to the book.
How does Jackson answer the question: Is working as a lifeguard the best job in the world to meet girls?
“Bartending is, but they are pretty close,” said Jackson, who just finished a stint tending bar in Key Biscayne, Fla.
He is off to a new adventure, leaving for Asia in three weeks to teach linguistics.
The book is available from Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com
jfichter@cmcherald.com
Editor’s Note: Alexander Jackson’s story raised lots of questions for our On Deck staff. We’d love to hear your reaction. Write us at OnDeck@cmcherald.com.