Broken Toys

By Brian Schreiber

Life is funny, and complicated, and damaging, and beautiful, and sometimes, life is just fucking heart wrenching. No matter how you define the ever-changing emotional perspective throughout your given collection of heartbeats, life just is - for as long as it is. Our chemical, mental and physical makeups are defined by genetics, lifestyle, and the environment that surrounds us. We go through life tying our experiences together to form ourselves; perspective, worth, and esteem. However, to me, none of these determining factors are as intimate as the people who have truly touched my heart. The ones who have managed to pierce my soul to such depths that I am altered forever.In my life, these very people are what define me as a person. Through my first half century, there have been people with leading roles and others with very minor ones, but they have all had some part in tapping into my human emotion and crafting the person I am today; for better or worse. I call these people my broken toys.Broken Toys are not easily discarded. Think back when you were a child. We've all had those possessions we would never dare part with: The tattered blanket you clutched tight and refused to put down. The stolen Barbie doll Nancy refused to leave behind. The 1967 Ford Mustang matchbox car you affectionately called Eleanor. These are the inanimate objects of which I speak. However, in my life, I define my broken toys in human forms. My toys are living, and yet, all broken. We are all, in some way, broken.Each tale you read has had everlasting effects on my life and penning them is my way of celebrating or maybe memorializing them; some trivial or obscene or even painful, some not so complimentary to my character, yet all mine. They range from my parents, my father, my friends, my loves, my one-night stands, and some of the few important people who have touched, and sometimes torched, my soul. I hope you enjoy the sonnet that has become the song of my life. I cannot say you will respect me at the end of this journey, but I hope you will better understand me as you sift through my scattered collection of Broken Toys.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1694277615
• ISBN13: 9781694277619
• Release Date: November 2019
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 406 Pages
• Weight: 1.13 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.5" x 8.5"