The Meaning of Children

Organized into three sections--appropriately titled "Beginning," "Middle," and "End"--the 14 stories in this collection approach the complexities of being human during those three distinct but interdependent stages of life. The author combines emotional depth and literary appeal to view the world through the eyes of children, the sorrow and ecstasies of child-bearing years, and the culmination of life in old age. Skillfully woven together, the narratives give an array of views through a medley of fascinating characters that include a girl who discovers a fear of heights as her parents' marriage unravels, a 30-something venture fund manager at odds with his daughter's paternity, an orphan accused of homophobia whose hands kill whatever they touch, and a mother of two who can only bear to consider abortion in the second person. Through an eclectic array of tales, this provocative anthology acknowledges that the world can be a very dark place while simultaneously longing for redemption through children.