What We Have Lost

Robert Lee

Apr 2015 · Robert Lee

About this ebook

 When the hen lays her eggs, the shells are soft and pliable, forming their durable armour as they experience the outside world. Each of us enters the world, with similar flawed and weak shells. Our shells are not broken and cracked by life, but are formed of the fragments that we encounter, piece by piece, growing more complete with each experience. What We Have Lost is a series of disconnected anecdotes in the lives of a family shaped by extreme poverty. These individual narratives chronicle the slow sculpting of the characters, as they fuse with their world, enveloped in mental illness. Molded by their mother’s paranoia, social isolation and obsessive drive to instill the hunger for learning and sense of duty to others, the four siblings evolve in unique and often pathological ways. Not knowing or understanding the bonds of familial love, Garry, Judy, Rob and Roger need to discover their own path to personal peace. None may make it. 
What We Have Lost exposes the cruelty of poverty. It opens up the heart of that world, in surprising and convoluted ways. The pathos is clear, the hidden pleasures need unearthing. What We Have Lost is a collection of anecdotes, but, as you read, you will find that they are far from disconnected, after all.

About the author

 Robert Lee brings a little bit of unusual to everything he touches. Among his creations are: The Last Drop of Living (A Minimalist’s Guide to Living The High Life On A Low Budget); The Last Drop Of Living: Finding Your Oasis; Fairy Tales, Fables and Yarns for All Ages; Wild Animals People I Have Known; Council of the Pure; Ashes of Paranoia; Disabilities (co-authored with Melissa Ancelin); Coffee, Black, The Dance Club: Turning Fifty Shades of Grey, How To Build a (Semi) Solid Yurt  and Ashes of Paranoia.

From his early jobs as a “bouncer” in several seedy hotels to his reincarnation as a private investigator, from community business development expert to environmental consultant, he has demonstrated eclectic interests and versatile talents.

In The Last Drop of Living, he guides readers through unique approaches to living a minimalist lifestyle with style. Fairy Tales, Fables and Yarns offers a collection of stories written for friends and family, young, not-so-young and old. Wild Animals People I Have Known documents anecdotes of over thirty violent criminals with whom Bob has interacted, and reveals that there is more depth to most of these murderers, thieves and violent thugs than meets the eye. In Mama’s Boys,  pathological loyalty among gang members leads to fatal consequences when one of the group seeks vengeance against another gang for his mother’s murder. Disabilities tracks four people as they deal with their visible and not-so-visible handicaps. Finding Your Oasis, a follow-up to The Last Drop Of Living, reveals tricks and tips for finding that peaceful sanctum that each of us seeks in life. And Coffee, Black offers a collection of short stories, each with a coffee shop as a focal point.

You may visit with Robert Lee and his collection of writings at his website, http://www.robertflee.com.