"I"m harping on the family and loved ones and living rooms and personal space and the home here because a good many of the stories by Brett, Seth and Gary in this book touch on those themes. "Touch on" might be too weak a term, come to think of it. "Reach into" is better. "Probe the way a surgeon does for a lump" is better still. A lot of these stories hurt. They hurt real bad. This is not a bad thing. Hurt can affirm life, and remind us we"re not alone."--Michael Marano, from his introduction