The three works in this volume concern people either slipping from or trying tograsp needed levels in life. In The Case of Arlene, a mental patient will onlyreveal her traumatic past to an itinerant part-time worker, creating intrigueswithin their facility. The Lightweight, written in verse, is essentially an epicpoem about a regular guy. His story offers meaning in its commonalitywith the aspirations and weaknesses of many other people. In The CelestialOpera, a reunion of two old friends at a funeral leads to deeper understandingof life, death, and what may lie beyond.