Michael Purcell Manhood: Myth and Mystery

This work of short fiction culminates a period in my life following the death of my father, the loss of my mother, the end of my marriage, the death of my two best friends going back to my early childhood, my struggle with alcoholism, manic depression and an endless feeling of being alone. As I completed these coming of age stories, an advisor suggested the title Manhood: Myth and Mystery was very fitting to convey the mysteries of growing up and the myths we concoct to explain it. These stories represent the struggles of trying to understand the world around me, what was happening to my father, what was happening to me, survival, my life and the expectations that come with it. It is the Myth and Mystery of one man's story and every man's journey.