On the Brink — Benjamin Stein

From the outside looking in, it appears as if architect Paul Randolph and his wife, Brenda, have it all. They've lived a comfortable life in the same house on Songbird Lane in New Orleans East with their two children, nine-year-old Jason and seven-year-old Janie, for the last ten years. But Paul's life is a lie. None of his dreams of a vine-covered cottage with a little picket fence are anywhere near reality. He feels trapped in a loveless marriage and is emotionally unable to have an affair. Paul is not sexually attracted to women, and he is frightened to make a sexual advance on a man for fear the man will react unfavorably, or even violently. On the Brink follows Paul's journey as he addresses the emotional and psychological aspects of his sexuality. He is torn between his love for his children, his societal position, and a desperate desire for integrity. Weary of suppressing his true self, Paul deliberates his fate, his only desire being wholeness.