Thomas Stazyk's irreverent debut, Identities, objectively explores how individuals' constructed identities determine their worldview and examines the contemporary issues of materialism, corporate greed, and personal identity with startling clarity. Dave Locke just got the call all executives in corporate America dread: the company is going in a different direction, thanks for all of your hard work, but we don't need you any longer. His sense of self and his place in the world shattered, Dave's experience and connections quickly land him a role as a senior partner in a management-consulting firm. As he settles into his new job, Dave takes a hard look at how narrowly he has defined himself and his life so that the mere loss of a job could be so personally devastating. He is disturbed by the greed, selfishness, and shallowness of some of his fellow partners, clients, and even his own son, Jim, a Wall Street executive. At the same time, thanks to his wife Jill, who is doing meaningful volunteer work with the less privileged, and his younger, rebellious and altruistic son, Alex, he learns to see the world differently. Dave evolves a new perspective on life and career, and he decides to change corporate culture and the capitalist system from the inside. A lot of people don't like change, however, and Dave finds that he has to pick his battles carefully. His mission sets him on an entertaining collision course with entrenched bureaucracies and office politicians as well as his ambitious son. It turns out to be a frustrating and risky business. Stazyk's scathing satire takes aim at materialism and greed with intelligence and humanism, challenging our definitions of success with a fine-tuned understanding of collective behavior. As inspiring as it is insightful, Identities is a thought-provoking commentary that redefines the modern landscape and encourages us to change our world for the better.
