Two brothers face their mother's impending death. A convenience store clerk balances compassion with duty. A grieving soldier receives a package of cookies meant for someone else. In this series of connected flash fiction pieces, people navigate the trials of life with tears, arguments and, above all, love and compassion. "Lives interwoven and cookies that arrive too late. "This bravura collection of linked stories provides a profound lesson in empathy, of pouring yourself into someone else's life, someone else's pain, to see it from the inside, looking out." - Will Ferguson, Giller Prize-winning author of 419 About Finnian Burnett Finnian Burnett is a professor, writer, and lifelong learner. They hold a doctorate in English pedagogy from Murray State University and teach college English, creative writing, and early British Literature. They've run the Golden Crown Literary Society's Writing Academy since 2015 and served as the Director of Education for several years. Under their former name, they published several novels with Sapphire Books Publishing, including two rainbow award winners. Their novella-in-flash, The Clothes Make the Man was released through Ad Hoc Fiction. They are a US transplant to Canada and after years as a permanent resident, they finally had their citizenship ceremony. They are now an official Canadian! (And yes, they cried during their ceremony.) They live in beautiful British Columbia with their wife.