Emancipation
by Michael R. Lane

Emancipation is a compelling compilation of stories focusing on a broad cross-section of individuals. Gratey Johnson is a PTSD war veteran whose combat hell has left him a shattered and demented man struggling to corral his demons. Gratey is also the universal fulcrum around which all other stories pivot. Parents, grandparents, children, lovers, executives, thieves, cops, educators, and drug dealers all have their unique tales to share. Their narratives of virtue, mischief, faith, immorality, morality, commitment, and perseverance bridge generational gaps and make whole a humane patchwork in an otherwise ambiguous life-scape. In a society where quick labels and categories are selective means of branding one’s character, the individual suffocates. These stories embrace our differences, allowing them space to breathe. As we step through this journey of ordinary and extraordinary circumstances, perhaps the lesson learned from these snapshots is that we possess more common threads that bind than differences that divide.