Discard: Short Story

From the short-story collection The Beggar’s Garden, “Discard” tells the story of Earl, who, after the death of his beloved wife, Tuuli, retreats into his basement. He emerges to track down his estranged, homeless grandson, leaving food and other broken-down bits of things in dumpsters for him to find.

The Beggar’s Garden follows a diverse group of characters, from a bank manager to a drug addict to a retired Samaritan, a web designer, and a car thief, as they drift through each other’s liv...