Downchild: Stories from a Shelter

Downchild is a collection of short stories about residents of a homeless shelter. We meet them one by one as they come to stand in line for admission to the shelter at the end of the day. Each has a story. We meet Gordy, the punch drunk fighter. We meet Leonard, who helps out at the convenience store. We meet Momma, who has lost her home to urban renewal and, with Alzheimer's, can't remember that she has. She wanders the streets trying to find it again. We meet Mary, who cares for her adult son and his girlfriend and keeps a roof over their heads with street smart skills. In four stories, we meet Jack Wyvern, who left college because his mind stopped working the way it used to and who looks for a new way to be proud of himself - as an artist, as an urban explorer, and as a man of God. Some of these people drink too much. Some of them bear up with immense dignity. All face the most challenging moments of their lives. The stories in Downchild have won high praise. Some have been published in literary reviews. They are told with great caring for their subjects and with a skill that puts the reader in these homeless people's shoes.