I spent countless hours delving into my past creating characters that mirrored my lived history from rural North Dakota to the swamps of New Orleans from the warm Pacific coast of California to the history laden countryside of Maryland. This collection of stories is not a memoir but memory is my main source of inspiration. What is more important to understand is that this product makes me feel normal. I m not unique and I m not special-I m human. If any of these characters are relatable it is not an accident because that is how they exist in my own memory. If memory is truly the last part of any experience than I invite you to experience these narratives as I did-and still do. Love them hate them pity them; all I ask is that the reader consider them.