Stephen Anthony Brotherton

Mum and Boy

Four individual and complex stories about human development and the psychological nature of the mum and boy relationship. They explore the potential complexity of this connection and show how it can go badly wrong.

A dead boy remembering tragedy from inside his coffin; a boy dealing with the death of his mum, who died by suicide; a teenager who mistakenly kills his father; a teenager dealing with hallucinations. Each compelling story covers a range of topics from mental health, suicide and psychological trauma. All with one thing in common - vulnerable human beings looking for survival. 

Watching the Wheels

Exposed. Vulnerable. Isolated.

A collection of short stories – a killer created from abuse, a teenager in search of answers from his older brother who committed suicide ten years earlier, a woman trapped in a persistent vegetative state, a ghost hunter afraid of ghosts, a bullied police officer, a man in a care home wanting a great adventure, and other fractured human beings looking for answers, trying to survive.  

What would you do in their place?

Fractures, Dreams and Second Chances

An autobiographical story from the heart

This is my story of first love, but it is told through the eyes of two fictional characters, Freddie and Jo-Jo. My life, like Freddie’s, was fractured by my dad’s death when I was seven years of age. As a teenager, at the end of the 1970s, I had a first love relationship that I dreamed would last a lifetime. My partner, like Jo-Jo, was strong, independent and had her perfect world dreams, but she was haunted by her own fractures. In 1980 a heart-breaking event killed our love and, for us, there has been no reunion. But I’ve always wondered, what if? This book explores that possibility. It tells the story of Freddie and Jo-Jo’s fractures, their teenage romance, their lives apart and their attempt to reignite their love after being separated for over three decades. Their story is a love story, but it also asks questions about the impact of early life trauma, the degree to which this travels with us down the years and the impact it can have on our relationship with others and the wider world.