In life, one either chooses to rise above temptation or fall into a black pit of despair and oblivion. In Pieces of Broken China, his first collection of short stories, author Dean Blanchard introduces a group of compelling characters who march on an unforgettable journey through the heartrending emotions that accompany a dysfunctional life.

A father struggles to tell his long-lost daughter that he is not a predatory sexual molester. A promise ring becomes the symbol of a boy's love for a girl he thought he knew. A son stands by his dying mother, and in return, she helps him to make peace with his adopted father. A mother attempts to help her daughter deal with an emotionally crippled Vietnam vet, who happens to also be her father. A wife senses her husband's sexual preference long before he does, but one evening, he must face his sexuality after an encounter with a gay man in a straight bar.

Pieces of Broken China chronicles one man's painful past as he searches for his identity and is forced to deal with a label that will shadow him for the rest of his life.