After Dinner Conversation - Family Ethics

Philosophy | Ethics Short Story Fiction

By: Vickie Fang, Brian Carey, Fotis Banis, Taylor Lawritson, Fryderyk Sylla, Serena Smith, Adam Strassberg, Pamela L. Laskin, Michele Koh Morollo, Penny Milam

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Ranked Top 10 "Best Lit Mags of 2023" by Chill Subs

Synopsis: Carefully curated stories from After Dinner Conversation magazine to create a themed short story book about the philosophy and ethics of family relationships. Perfect for classrooms and book clubs, each story is 1,500-7,000 words and comes with five suggested discussion questions. Edition Editor - C.S. Griffel

• Eleven Things I Have Left Now That My Daughter Is Gone: Promise leaves her drug-addicted prostitute mother behind so she can go to college.
• The Davidson Method: A couple heads to the clinic to discuss options for reprogramming their child to accept the divorce.
• Pappou's Garden: A dour man's cherished garden becomes the battleground for his unresolved family conflicts and a reflection on tradition and duty.
• Junk: Grieved by the loss of her father, in a house overflowing with sentimental clutter, a woman's chance encounter forces her to consider a new beginning.
• The Perfect Daughter: A genetically engineered woman's idyllic life shatters when she discovers the truth about her origins.
• Purgatory: The narrator struggles with the death of her abusive father.
• Apple Pi: A couple uses coin flips to make decisions in their relationship.
• Love Sounds: A mother suffering from mental illness wants to help plan her daughter's wedding.
• Mama: Miriam struggles to come to terms with her daughter asserting her own will instead of just looking at her lovingly.
• Yellow Is the Color of Choices: 14-year-old Megan tells her father she's pregnant.

After Dinner Conversation believes humanity is improved by ethics and morals grounded in philosophical truth. Philosophical truth is discovered through intentional reflection and respectful debate. In order to facilitate that process, we have created a growing series of short stories across genres, a monthly magazine, themed books, and two podcasts. These accessible examples of abstract ethical and philosophical ideas are intended to draw out deeper discussions with friends, family, and students.

Reviews ★★★★★
“With Science fiction we can explore other galaxies and alien conflicts, but with philosophical fiction we can explore other minds and ethical conflicts. Let this book take you on a Phi-Fi adventure.”
— William Irwin, Ph.D. - Philosophy Professor, King's College

“After Dinner Conversation has taken up the initiative to write themed collections of short stories that fit focused ethics courses – say, a course on bioethics, AI ethics, Tech ethics etc. These collections can offer a spine for such courses or individual stories could be added to a course as illustrative material to stimulate discussion. The stories are lively and engaging and followed by a set of questions to start classroom discussion. Also, outside of educational contexts, the stories will work nicely to stimulate conversation in families, elder hostels, youth clubs, or book groups.”
— Luc Bovens, Ph.D. - Philosophy Professor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill