Useful is a collection 
about mistakes.

 

 

Add up your missteps, your misjudgments. Take your missed opportunities and misfortunes. What is their value? Put it in your pocket. I want these stories to have utility in your life. May they shine a light on that crucial need we all have to be “of use” – to ourselves, to each other, and, finally, to some greater good.

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Useful is 10 short stories, framed by the idea that what we do for a living may be more impactful than it appears. These are not pieces about work, specifically – rather, they cover the same ground that our jobs, our ways of "earning our keep," may live inside of us. Is my work "who I am"? What else can I be? Is it wrong to ask?

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Some people in Useful don't have a job. Others are consumed by their occupations. Ultimately, self-worth is currency. But ... why is that?

 

Chris Hart is a Baltimore-based writer/editor. This is his first book.     

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