Squandered Prayers

by Tom Winton

An embellished chapter from the internationally acclaimed bestselling novel Beyond Nostalgia, Squandered Prayers is a powerful, freestanding short story about a son's struggle to deal with his mother's mental illness and his hotheaded father's behavior when he brings the girl he loves home for dinner.

20 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 20, 2015

About the author

Tom Winton has done everything from working on a railroad gang in the Colorado Rockies to driving a taxicab in some of New York’s most dangerous neighborhoods. He has also been a mailman, a salesman, an entrepreneur and more. Since having his first book published in 2011 he’s written eight more, and they’ve all been bestsellers.

Said to be a man who writes with his pen dipped in his soul, Tom has been listed as one of Amazon's Top 100 "Most Popular Authors" in both Literary Fiction and in Mystery, Thriller and Suspense. He has also been named by Wattpad (the world’s largest online reading platform) as one of their most followed authors.

Tom Winton lives on the east coast of Florida.

Reviews

[Brenda Perlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Squandered Prayers by Tom Winton is a poignant short that takes hold from the instant the story is being told. I love the authors easy writing style and clear prose. He brings you right there to that place and time. In this case it is 1968 in New York City and the main character is a seventeen year-old boy.

I was moved heavily by this touching tale of a young man who deals with a mother with mental illness. This gets right to the heart of it without being overly depressing or morose. There is something inspiring in this young boy. Wisdom beyond his years, as they say. Real life. Disturbing, real, raw and full of heart. Mesmerizing.

I picked up this book because I so enjoyed Movin' On, another one of the authors shorts. Squandered Prayers did not disappoint. Very easy to get absorbed into these powerful stories.

[Becky Corwin-Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dysfunctional Family Drama

I enjoyed this well written short story about an extremely dysfunctional family. The teenage sons shared a bedroom with their parents because the father was too tight fisted to spring for a two bedroom apartment. The mother had mental issues and was a germaphobe. The father spent most of his free time at the church to escape the craziness at home. The frequent very loud arguments between the couple caused the neighbors to gather outside to listen. It was more entertaining than watching television.

This book was an interesting read. It was sad to see how the youngest son, who is telling the story, had to grow up in such a bad situation. The book is a real eye opener and will make you appreciate your own family even more.

[Elaina · Rating 5 out of 5]

A moving and insightful short story!

This is quite dark, but is so well told one must read on to the very end. In this tale many of us will see something of ourselves, the events that shaped our lives. Perhaps our situations were somewhat different, but the feelings of helplessness are the same, as is the lesson that it will not always be – there is always a future.

I thoroughly enjoyed this emotional journey.