It’s late 2019; the California fires are spreading, the pandemic is in full swing, and America is deeply divided regarding everything from the BLM movement and the existence of a divisive virus. A blind homosexual black man tries to make a name for himself, only to fall victim to police brutality on a daily basis, and a gay married couple struggles to understand their teenage son’s plight. A divorced woman tries to shield her kids from her ex-husband’s obsession with QAnon and conspiracy theories, and a married woman of twenty-five years drops a bombshell—she is transitioning from female to male. As the fires rage on and the pandemic threatens to break the American spirit, these individuals, all tightly connected, must find a way to weather the storm while grappling with heartbreak, grief, and self-loathing. … More “First Born Sons” by Vincent Traughber Meis