"Robert Hoge was born with a tumor the size of a tennis ball in the middle of his face and short, twisted legs, but he refused to let what made him different stand in the way of leading a happy, successful life. This is the true story of how he embraced his circumstances and never let his "ugly" stop him from focusing on what truly mattered." --

"A mother and son use their imagination to have fun on a rainy day."--

Present day Scotland. A tale is told to a couple of American tourists by a kindly gentleman in a pub. Angus is a lonely boy who pines for his father, who is serving in the Royal Navy during World War II. Angus, along with his sister and mother, live on an estate that has been billeted by soldiers in the Scottish Highlands, near Loch Ness. The troop's commander has an eye for mom, is suspicious about a mysterious handyman, Lewis, who is also a war...

"[A] portrait of a family, and a testament to the redemptive power of storytelling. On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous is a letter from a son to a mother who cannot read. Written when the speaker, Little Dog, is in his late twenties, the letter unearths a family's history that began before he was born--a history whose epicenter is rooted in Vietnam--and serves as a doorway into parts of his life his mother has never known, all of it leading to an unforgettable...