Angry Archie Thrasher and the Others (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781597132459)

Angry Archie Thrasher and the Others is an outgrowth from writing case studies for a book on narrative problem solving for school leaders. Written as short stories, those case studies fully described characters, settings, events and issues to capture the human side of the complicated personnel, student and constituent concerns that arise in school systems. I enjoyed the process so much that after finishing the book I explored writing short stories with a variety of themes and perspectives.

Angry Archie Thrasher and The Others is the result of that exploration. It is a collection of twelve stories in written in different genres, each preceded by an introductory extended limerick. The limericks serve to set the scene or underlying theme of the accompanying stories that inhabit different genres. Mystery, fable, fantasy, science fiction, and magical thinking are among the vehicles for different perspectives on the human condition, with characters ranging from animals to celestial beings facing situations where the resolution to a dilemma is evasive.

The stories bring attention to how we confront who we are amidst the struggles that affect our lives. Examples include a pig hitch-hiking to Manhattan to escape her slaughter, God and an acolyte discussing the creation of life, a postal clerk struggling with retirement, a veteran suffering from PTSD seeking extraterrestrial help, and a high school student falling under the spell of a classmate. Some of the stories are open-ended, asking the reader to

consider the range of possible outcomes, while others satisfy the reader with closure.