Memoirs of the Messed Up Minds

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Edgy, dark, and laced with comedy, this collection of short stories examines the psychological effects the mind can have on a person's life.  

In "Come Fly With Me," Calum turns to alcohol after his marriage fails.  His only avenue of escape comes from a realistic recurring dream that he can fly- one that only occurs after he's been drinking.  It has a rejuvenating effect on his fragile state of mind, and he can’t wait to hit the bottle again and again.

“The Crap Shoot” follows Danny, a struggling writer who discovers that life in the public bathroom of the local park is not what it seems.  It’s a dark and seedy world of drug dealing, prostitution, and homosexual activity.  Going undercover as a homeless man, he vows to write a bestselling story to help launch his struggling career by exposing the appalling activities occurring right under the noses of the local residents.

Badly disfigured in a fire accident, arrogant executive Alexander McKenzie has to take stock of his life in “Burning With Silence.”  With his paranoia and anger about to explode, he takes a different job where he is unknown and pretends to be deaf in order to hear what people say about him.

Me 1 Arthritis 0

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In his early twenties, Brandon Wilkinson received a shocking diagnosis: he had arthritis.  Life took a sudden and devastating turn as he coped with chronic pain and the knowledge that he needed immediate hip replacement surgery.  Yet as he struggled against the pain throughout his body, Wilkinson made a conscious decision to win the fight.

With emotional depth and maturity beyond his years, Wilkinson delves into the difficult days following his diagnosis in Me 1 Arthritis 0.  He tells of how friends, family, and co-workers greeted the news with varying degrees of support, sympathy, and even pity, and he shares the emotional upheaval that he experienced in every aspect of his life: he adopted better eating habits, pain-management techniques, and an improved mental attitude.  In the end, Wilkinson triumphed over his disease and today lives a pain-free life.

Dark and edgy with splashes of humor, this memoir is a must-read for all arthritis sufferers.  Wilkinson’s courage and strength brilliantly capture the true essence of the human spirit and will inspire anyone living with the physical and mental aspects of chronic pain.

Beer Goggles

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Traumatized after his father’s mysterious suicide, twenty-nine-year-old Scotland native Stevie McDonald begins an irresponsible and dangerous foray into the dark world of alcohol and sex addiction.  Stevie, a former rugby and football player is on a downward spiral initiated by the guilt he feels in not being able to prevent his father’s tragic death.  Plagued by nightmares, Stevie looks for answers and comfort from the bottle and, as a result, regularly blacks out from his excessive drinking.  In a desperate attempt to shock Stevie into rehabilitation, a childhood friend and electronics guru designed beer goggles- fashion eyewear complete with a miniature camcorder that documents Stevie’s every move- both in and out of the bedroom.  Stevie is finally convinced to try the goggles after waking up one morning to a redheaded stranger whose name he can’t remember.  When Stevie is finally able to view the embarrassing, random, and sometimes violent alcohol-induced events on his laptop, everyone crosses their fingers and hopes for the best, but only time will tell if Stevie can will the battle over his inner demons and turn his life around.