Fourteen stories for adults and young adults, showing the sometimes humorous, and sometimes tragic facts of life. Includes:

WHY DOES IT ALWAYS HAVE TO BE ME? A generation gap story about a woman designated by her family to talk Grandfather into leaving the past behind and moving into assisted living. In the process she learns that the past can hold unexpected value.

ABOMINATION Life is good for sixteen year old Neill Mallory, until the day his boyfriend dumps him. Maybe they do love each other, but Carl's parents have prayed over him, and he can't fight people invoking the God thing and calling him an abomination.

FATHERS and SONS The age-old epic battle between a fourteen-year-old boy and his father as they play the "my way or the highway" game and then wait to see who blinks.

BEGGAR BOY She's African-American from Indiana. He's Iranian-African from Illinois. They meet in Jamaica, brought together by a boy too proud to beg and too ashamed to admit a painful past.

DIE TRYING Juvon spent years with only one goal, the 2012 Olympics, preparing to bring medals home to his parents. A diagnosis of terminal cancer strips him of his chances. Experimental treatments are failing. He makes the decision to take his future into his own hands.