These short stories are about people in conflict; the characters venture toward personal growth, struggle to improve family relationships, and search for a relationship with God or the cosmos. In the title story a lonely man take actions which cause his increased isolation. His shattered hopes induced him to abandon his newfound friend, a companion who might have added stability to his dismantled existence. The stories show the tension between the rational man and the religious zealot; religious individuals must discover that orthodox prescriptions cannot prevent one from experiencing the pain of life. The themes and characters in these stories are rooted in rural towns, steeped in provincial attitudes and concerns. This volume treats themes of isolation, longing, disillusionment, fear of the unknown, within a context of reflective living. These characters live deliberately, sucking out the marrow of life; they are characters who live simple, unglamorous, yet courageous lives
