Who are the employees of St Jude's Medical Center? You already know them. You work with them. Come take a madcap meeting with them anyway and see how and why they leave common sense behind as the new hospital administrator William Petty changes everything. He adjusts associated staffing levels (fires people) and increases workloads (sometimes for the fired people). He even limits Father Chuck to added-value duties.In response, the employees begin to form bad habits and a union. However, no one handles the changes worse than Bigger, a kitchen worker with a belief that he is affected by invisibility rays. The worst thing he could ever imagine happens-his boss offers him a promotion.All he has to do is betray his coworkers and help keep people from voting for the union.He seeks out advice from his motley crew of friends: Dykes who tells every woman he sleeps with that he is lonely; Dan the audio/visual geek who organizes the union just to piss his wife off; and even Father Chuck who is so stunned that he must now bill patients for his prayers that he spends his days bitterly smoking in the designated area for oral nicotine worship, "e;The Butt Hutt."e; The only person to give him good advice is his friend Joe who teaches him the Tao of Apathy. It's a powerful tool, but will Bigger choose to use it?

When a gunman takes the hosts of a morning show hostage, we find the love and darkness behind the cheery banter. Maggie tosses cigarettes in the same spot on her way to work every morning. She imagines the pile growing until her monument to misery is complete. Long before it is complete though, she will end it all. The only ones that can save her are the Blister Sisters, but they are busy running their beer tent at the town festival. Then there is the spring breaker on the make with the winner of a wet T-shirt contest. He has only known her since she took the stage and yet he has fallen in love with her.

Gathered here are Thomas Cannon's short stories that have been published over the years. It is an eclectic collection with a few fantasy stories near the end of the book. The title story, Alternate Forms of Life, is a story the author treasures writing. Alexander, the main character, has Aspergers' and showcases that people on the autism spectrum are complex people with value. That is not to say Alexander is an accurate representation. For conflict and humor reasons, he does have some stereotypical behavior. The intent is that people with autism and those with loved ones on the autism scale will connect to some of the things Alexander says, does, and experience.Some stories came from a single idea. Hammerschlagen combines the ideas of someone throwing her cigarette in the same spot every day and seeing the game Hammerschlagen played in a beer tent. Seven Questions was a response to the writing prompt:  "e;The three witches are blowing this way."e;  Blue Tarp came from Cannon seeing an online auction for half of a manufactured home.

Can you rewrite the ending of a love story if you've already designed its failure?Sally Story and Wes are on the brink of their ten-year marriage milestone, set against the vibrant, competitive backdrop of the Chicago art scene. For a decade, their partnership thrived on a perfect balance: Sally, a master artisan of hand-crafted furniture, anchored their life while selling Wes's paintings out of her downtown storefront. But when Wes suddenly finds himself on the verge of breakout national fame, Sally is paralyzed by a devastating fear that she is no longer needed.Driven by anxiety and convinced their relationship is doomed, Sally makes a preemptive strike against heartbreak and forces Wes to move out. What follows is a witty, bittersweet, and fractured romance where the line between self-protection and self-sabotage blurs. By the time their actual tenth anniversary arrives, they find themselves on dates with entirely different people.In this contemporary romance novella, author and poet Thomas Cannon delivers a candid, lighthearted, yet deeply moving exploration of modern marriage, the terror of vulnerability, and the dangerous power of self-fulfilling prophecies.Genre: Contemporary Romance Novella / Relationship FictionThemes: Marriage Reconciliation, Creative Couples, Self-Sabotage in Relationships, Chicago FictionPerfect for Fans of: Witty dialogue, emotionally honest marital dramas, and fast-paced indie romance reads.

About the BookLooking for contemporary short story collections about messy relationships and human connection? Discover Parts of Me, a compelling and deeply relatable fiction anthology by acclaimed Wisconsin author Thomas Cannon.Perfect for fans of realistic Midwestern drama and sharp cultural satire, this book acts as a poignant mirror to the modern human condition. Within its pages, Cannon intricately weaves together the lives of everyday people navigating emotional crossroads: from a Catholic priest struggling with a forbidden love to a fractured couple forced into anger management classes before their divorce can proceed.Balancing heartbreaking realism with a witty, optimistic underlying humor, Parts of Me dives into ** sobriety challenges, emotional infidelity, commitment phobia, and the fear of vulnerability**. It is an essential read for anyone seeking character-driven books that explore the beauty and turmoil of love prevailing.

Who are the employees of St Jude's Medical Center? You already know who they are. You work with them. Come take a madcap meeting with them anyway and see how and why they leave common sense behind as the new hospital administrator William Petty changes everything. He adjusts associated staffing levels (fires people) and increases workloads (sometimes for the fired people). He even limits Father Chuck to added-value duties. In response, the employees begin to form bad habits and a union. However, no one handles the changes worse than Bigger, a kitchen worker with a belief that he is affected by invisibility rays. The worst thing he could ever imagine happens—his boss offers him a promotion. All he has to do is betray his coworkers and help keep people from voting for the union. He seeks out advice from his motley crew of friends: Dykes who tells every woman he sleeps with that he is lonely; Dan the audio/visual geek who organizes the union just to piss his wife off; and even Father Chuck who is so stunned that he must now bill patients for his prayers that he spends his days bitterly smoking in the designated area for oral nicotine worship, "e;The Butt Hutt."e; The only person to give him good advice is his friend Joe who teaches him the Tao of Apathy. It's a powerful tool, but will Bigger choose to use it?

In the heart of a Wisconsin dairy farm, where the days are measured by the rhythm of the harvest and the breath of the herd, lies a story of what it means to belong.Nuances of Family is a lyrical journey through the soil and soul of a rural childhood. Through intimate, sensory-rich free verse, Thomas Cannon captures the grit and grace of farm life—the scent of fresh-cut hay, the weight of calloused hands, and the quiet strength of the bonds that tie us to the land and to each other.More than a memoir in verse, this collection is an honest exploration of the love, labor, and legacy that define a family. It is an invitation to pause, breathe, and rediscover the profound beauty found in the simplest moments of growing up.

Who are the employees of St Jude's Medical Center? You already know them. You work with them. Come take a madcap meeting with them anyway and see how and why they leave common sense behind as the new hospital administrator William Petty changes everything. He adjusts associated staffing levels (fires people) and increases workloads (sometimes for the fired people). He even limits Father Chuck to added-value duties.In response, the employees begin to form bad habits and a union. However, no one handles the changes worse than Bigger, a kitchen worker with a belief that he is affected by invisibility rays. The worst thing he could ever imagine happens-his boss offers him a promotion.All he has to do is betray his coworkers and help keep people from voting for the union.He seeks out advice from his motley crew of friends: Dykes who tells every woman he sleeps with that he is lonely; Dan the audio/visual geek who organizes the union just to piss his wife off; and even Father Chuck who is so stunned that he must now bill patients for his prayers that he spends his days bitterly smoking in the designated area for oral nicotine worship, "e;The Butt Hutt."e; The only person to give him good advice is his friend Joe who teaches him the Tao of Apathy. It's a powerful tool, but will Bigger choose to use it?

When a gunman takes the hosts of a morning show hostage, we find the love and darkness behind the cheery banter. Maggie tosses cigarettes in the same spot on her way to work every morning. She imagines the pile growing until her monument to misery is complete. Long before it is complete though, she will end it all. The only ones that can save her are the Blister Sisters, but they are busy running their beer tent at the town festival. Then there is the spring breaker on the make with the winner of a wet T-shirt contest. He has only known her since she took the stage and yet he has fallen in love with her.

Gathered here are Thomas Cannon's short stories that have been published over the years. It is an eclectic collection with a few fantasy stories near the end of the book. The title story, Alternate Forms of Life, is a story the author treasures writing. Alexander, the main character, has Aspergers' and showcases that people on the autism spectrum are complex people with value. That is not to say Alexander is an accurate representation. For conflict and humor reasons, he does have some stereotypical behavior. The intent is that people with autism and those with loved ones on the autism scale will connect to some of the things Alexander says, does, and experience.Some stories came from a single idea. Hammerschlagen combines the ideas of someone throwing her cigarette in the same spot every day and seeing the game Hammerschlagen played in a beer tent. Seven Questions was a response to the writing prompt:  "e;The three witches are blowing this way."e;  Blue Tarp came from Cannon seeing an online auction for half of a manufactured home.

Can you rewrite the ending of a love story if you've already designed its failure?Sally Story and Wes are on the brink of their ten-year marriage milestone, set against the vibrant, competitive backdrop of the Chicago art scene. For a decade, their partnership thrived on a perfect balance: Sally, a master artisan of hand-crafted furniture, anchored their life while selling Wes's paintings out of her downtown storefront. But when Wes suddenly finds himself on the verge of breakout national fame, Sally is paralyzed by a devastating fear that she is no longer needed.Driven by anxiety and convinced their relationship is doomed, Sally makes a preemptive strike against heartbreak and forces Wes to move out. What follows is a witty, bittersweet, and fractured romance where the line between self-protection and self-sabotage blurs. By the time their actual tenth anniversary arrives, they find themselves on dates with entirely different people.In this contemporary romance novella, author and poet Thomas Cannon delivers a candid, lighthearted, yet deeply moving exploration of modern marriage, the terror of vulnerability, and the dangerous power of self-fulfilling prophecies.Genre: Contemporary Romance Novella / Relationship FictionThemes: Marriage Reconciliation, Creative Couples, Self-Sabotage in Relationships, Chicago FictionPerfect for Fans of: Witty dialogue, emotionally honest marital dramas, and fast-paced indie romance reads.

About the BookLooking for contemporary short story collections about messy relationships and human connection? Discover Parts of Me, a compelling and deeply relatable fiction anthology by acclaimed Wisconsin author Thomas Cannon.Perfect for fans of realistic Midwestern drama and sharp cultural satire, this book acts as a poignant mirror to the modern human condition. Within its pages, Cannon intricately weaves together the lives of everyday people navigating emotional crossroads: from a Catholic priest struggling with a forbidden love to a fractured couple forced into anger management classes before their divorce can proceed.Balancing heartbreaking realism with a witty, optimistic underlying humor, Parts of Me dives into ** sobriety challenges, emotional infidelity, commitment phobia, and the fear of vulnerability**. It is an essential read for anyone seeking character-driven books that explore the beauty and turmoil of love prevailing.

Who are the employees of St Jude's Medical Center? You already know who they are. You work with them. Come take a madcap meeting with them anyway and see how and why they leave common sense behind as the new hospital administrator William Petty changes everything. He adjusts associated staffing levels (fires people) and increases workloads (sometimes for the fired people). He even limits Father Chuck to added-value duties. In response, the employees begin to form bad habits and a union. However, no one handles the changes worse than Bigger, a kitchen worker with a belief that he is affected by invisibility rays. The worst thing he could ever imagine happens—his boss offers him a promotion. All he has to do is betray his coworkers and help keep people from voting for the union. He seeks out advice from his motley crew of friends: Dykes who tells every woman he sleeps with that he is lonely; Dan the audio/visual geek who organizes the union just to piss his wife off; and even Father Chuck who is so stunned that he must now bill patients for his prayers that he spends his days bitterly smoking in the designated area for oral nicotine worship, "e;The Butt Hutt."e; The only person to give him good advice is his friend Joe who teaches him the Tao of Apathy. It's a powerful tool, but will Bigger choose to use it?

In the heart of a Wisconsin dairy farm, where the days are measured by the rhythm of the harvest and the breath of the herd, lies a story of what it means to belong.Nuances of Family is a lyrical journey through the soil and soul of a rural childhood. Through intimate, sensory-rich free verse, Thomas Cannon captures the grit and grace of farm life—the scent of fresh-cut hay, the weight of calloused hands, and the quiet strength of the bonds that tie us to the land and to each other.More than a memoir in verse, this collection is an honest exploration of the love, labor, and legacy that define a family. It is an invitation to pause, breathe, and rediscover the profound beauty found in the simplest moments of growing up.