-REALITY- Sam, a physician with lifelong religious uncertainties, meets Patrick, an architect who always wanted to be a father. As they reach forty, pondering their own mortality, they embark on a journey to create a family. Their exploration of adoption and surrogacy confronts them with numerous obstacles, including prejudice against gay parenthood. Alternating between ambivalence and certainty, one of them is always pushing forward. -ILLUSION- Sam's musings take him from his earliest memories to an unthinkable, distant future. Upon arriving in Washington, DC, he meets a mysterious woman who subsequently helps him sort out his notions regarding the effects of religion on his life. Intertwined with the main story are several accounts that elaborate on the themes of gay marriage and parenthood, religious doctrine and intolerance, mythology and fantasy. -TRANSFORMATION- As the non-linear narrative progresses, perspectives and realities change. Deceptively light-hearted poems deal with dark themes. Pieces of text and circumstances reappear in variations. Sam and Patrick's story marches to its conclusion despite pre-parental anxieties reverberating with alternate consequences. Existential contemplations bring about a desire for guidance, unencumbered by religion. The result is a set of unconventional commandments that will hopefully lead to a moral, rightful and fulfilling life. | Stupendous Commandments For My Child by Jacob Clark, Hardcover | Indigo Chapters