An Idaho farmer who aches for absolution after a tragedy is given one more chance at redemption. Two runaways cross paths in a Tennessee bus station with only one ticket between them. A family sees looters racing toward their home as they escape an Oregon wildfire. A young couple takes a reckless turn off a state highway in Utah and find themselves in a nightmarish government biohazard area.

These and 46 more shorts make up an anthology that will surprise readers with each new thought-provoking story as they skip effortlessly across different genres, moods, and states of mind. Together, they provide a character-driven sampling of the American experience over the last 60 years - the kind and the cruel, the heroic and criminal - in unpredictable and exciting ways.

50 States is a debut collection of short stories that captures the human condition and how perception shapes destiny. The book spans several literary genres with each short story set in a different state across America.

Richard R. Becker