Love, Work and the Other Things is a collection of stories written over two decades. Some stories won awards for fiction and previously appeared in small-press publications. Some remain buried in slush piles on editor’s sideboards. All span the spectrum of coming of age experiences that begin in youth and continue through adulthood. Growing up in Seattle, Washington and moving to Southern California as a teenager, the stories range from first love at summer camp in the Pacific Northwest to the endurance of regular employment and the rare privilege of self-reflection in times of sufficient financial stability. The stories are fiction, dramatized memoir, and heightened documentary. They were written not just to entertain, but also in a relentless, lifelong search to uncover the fundamental truths of the human condition. In this, my effort is no different than the efforts of other writers who chose to examine with unbiased focus life’s vicissitudes, disappointments, compromises, triumphs, and transcendent joys. It is a continuing inquiry written one page at a time. With time and a little good luck, more pages shall follow.