50 States shares 50 literary, experimental, and speculative stories about different people coping with or facing life-defining moments in different places and different times.

Two runaways cross paths in a Tennessee bus station with only one ticket between them. In Illinois, a middle-aged man eyes the daily grind of a young basketball player who never boards the school bus. A family sees looters racing toward their home as they escape an Oregon wildfire.

These and 47 more stories make up the debut, with each easily read in a single sitting. Together, they also provide a sampling of the American experience over the last 60 years, similar to the Spoon River Anthology by Edger Less Masters or The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer.

"A cleverly conceived, character-driven, if overstuffed, anthology sure to delight and enchant." — Kirkus Reviews

"Richard R. Becker has made a stellar debut with 50 States! I stayed for Richard's imaginative writing that made me feel as though I was really beside these characters and experiencing their pain and joy. I fell in love with how each short story packs a punch and is memorable on its own." — Readers' Favorite