The Short Happy Life of Thomas Higgins

By: William Behr Mueller

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Thomas Higgins, a 37-year-old who works for the state of California in the Climate Agency has a relatively happy life. His idyllic situation tends toward destruction as he has a recurring dream that takes him to the Middle East. To try to understand why he has the dream, Thomas seeks professional help from Dr. Farid at the local Kaiser office. In the question and answer sessions, Dr. Farid asks Thomas to write the experiences he’s having in the dream so that Dr. Farid can analyze what is causing the dream.

In a conference in San Francisco Thomas meets a colleague from the San Jose office and they hit it off. She invites him to Santa Clara where she lives with her mother. Thomas snags a ride with another Climate Agency worker. The trip to Santa Clara is more than satisfying to Thomas as he is treated to a Cook’s Tour of the sights in San Jose by Liz. Their intimacy is a partial remedy to Thomas’ strange dream.

One of Thomas’ rules is that he should never become involved with a co-worker. The relationship with Liz is overlooked because of the distance involved.

Christie, a blue-haired woman with a nose ring also works at the Climate Agency. She is a bike-riding enthusiast, something that Thomas also indulges in. Circumstances throw the two together and cause Thomas more mental anguish in addition to the strange recurring dream.

Will Thomas work out the situation with both Liz and Christie? Will Dr. Farid provide a solution to the long-running dream? The answers to those questions make the journey through The Short Happy Life of Thomas Higgins a memorable reading experience.