Time reveals our lives in stories.

Each generation watches the stories of the lives they shared fade farther and farther into the past. This book contains sixteen stories of life. They include: Something in Return Nancy has been sick since Thursday, but feels better tonight. Nancy had fallen ill two days earlier on January sixth, just a few days after she had gone sledding. Emma found this out from her sister Marjorie on the day of this entry. Then, as I glance down at the next day, I see it before I read it . . . Jackie As I throw open the door my flashlight beam careens off the floor joists above my head and--Oh My God!--there they are! Why did I have to look up? Eleven white cadavers hang from the joists by ropes tied around their necks: their feet have been cut off . . . The Finest Thing It was a spoon that did it. Instead of being handed a shovel and told to dig until I found what I was looking for, I had been offered a spoon. As I stood looking at the simple utilitarian shape I realized it was stronger than the most powerful machine, for with one small motion it could sweep away nearly . . .

Bruce Southard was born and raised in Hancock, MA, then spent twenty-three years living and working in and around New York City. Bruce holds a BFA in Communications Design from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY and an MBA from the Isenberg School of Business, UMASS Amherst.