{"product_id":"mortal-things-9781734956382","title":"Mortal Things","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eWhat mortal things are fleeting, and what stay with us forever?\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMount Airy, Philadelphia, 1989. Sarah Goins, a college professor with a thriving career and close-knit academic community, is eager to draw her boyfriend Mike Flannagan deeper into her world. But Mike, a groundskeeper at a local seminary, resists, instead keeping her at arm's length as he struggles to come to terms with a past haunted by loss.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLate one night, Mike crosses paths with Domenic Gallo, a neighborhood barber who has been injured in a mugging. As Mike helps the elderly man, Domenic tends to his own painful history, and the two strike up an unlikely friendship built around mutual understanding of each other's grief.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen outside forces drive Sarah and Mike further apart, Sarah seeks out Domenic in an attempt to salvage her floundering relationship. Like Mike, she is drawn into the world of Domenic's barbershop and the new sense of community it offers.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA series of crises and secrets threatens the fragile balance Sarah, Mike, and Domenic have created, and soon the trio find themselves grappling with the meaning of family and class, loyalty and faith. Told in alternating perspectives against the vibrant backdrop of one of Philadelphia's most distinctive neighborhoods, Mortal Things is a powerful reflection on the transient ties that can bind or break us. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNed Bachus's collection of short stories, City of Brotherly Love, was awarded the 2013 Independent Publisher Award (IPPY) Gold Medal for Literary Fiction. About the book, Sena Jeter Naslund, author of Ahab's Wife, said \"[My] life is variously enriched by reading Ned Bachus's superb stories.\" The recipient of two fellowships from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, his 2017 book, Open Admissions: What Teaching at Community College Taught Me About Learning, was the product of his nearly four-decade career at Community \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=AUTH-7059989\"\u003eNed Bachus\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Tree of Life Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/04\/2022\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 462\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.48lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 1.03d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781734956382\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1734956380\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBISAC Categories:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-FIC\"\u003eFiction\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-FIC000000\"\u003eGeneral\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Tree of Life Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44528025403629,"sku":"9781734956382","price":19.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/8097\/6621\/products\/img_5e59960a-01ee-48de-aa73-f5f2d93542bc.jpg?v=1701382646","url":"https:\/\/sureshotbooks.com\/products\/mortal-things-9781734956382","provider":"SureShot Books Publishing LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}