The Collapsible Mannequin

<p><em>The Collapsible Mannequin</em> tells the story of twelve-year-old Clarence Clark and his mother Sarah who goes to extreme measures to hide significant truths to protect him. Clarence questions the things we take for granted and takes for granted the things we question. Looking through his eyes the world brightens and shifts.</p><p><br></p><p>Clarence brings voice to a humanness we seem to have forgotten. He is an astute observer an ingenuous participant in his environment but woefully misread by his peers because of his autism. In order to quell his loneliness Clarence writes letters which he ties to balloons letting them fly off with fate to faraway distances in search of a pen pal which he finds in Peter a father-like figure whom he eventually meets. <em>The Collapsible Mannequin</em> carries a suspense that is equally complex and life-affirming.</p>