{"product_id":"invention-is-a-mother-9798985926408","title":"Invention Is a Mother","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIn a near future where you are what you wear, can an idling young engineer successfully navigate corporate startup culture, accept his family's medical crisis, and harness his full creative potential?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Rob Brownell's sharply written \u003cem\u003eInvention Is a Mother\u003c\/em\u003e somehow manages to be witty, absurd, playful, imaginative, cynical, sad, compelling, heartfelt, and darkly hilarious all in one. Full of boozy wormholes, sentient appliances, multiple Jesuses, automated buffets, and many other colorful sci-fi abstractions, this book will not only make you think and feel, but also smile.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e-Dan Marshall, author of \u003cem\u003eHome Is Burning\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRESPONSIBILITY IS OVERRATED\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs a recently graduated and happily unemployed engineer, Shaughnessy shirks responsibility whenever possible. He coasts through life, sidestepping every opportunity to follow in his father Walton's footsteps, until Walton begins to suspect that he has MFD (mysterious fatal disease).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe family coerces Shaughnessy to use his identiTee-a half-baked technology of programmable identity-to impersonate his father as a senior engineer at Critical Think Inc. There, he is immediately entangled in the development of an irrational consumer product: portable parking.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePROFOUND? OR PROFOUNDLY STUPID?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePressured to innovate in the face of absurd challenges and the visionary CEO's fantastical demands, Shaughnessy teeters on the edge between breakthrough and breakdown.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFans of \u003cem\u003eThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Good Omens\u003c\/em\u003e, or \u003cem\u003eSlaughterhouse Five\u003c\/em\u003e will enjoy laugh-out-loud collisions with the limits of reason.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRob Brownell's \u003cem\u003eInvention Is a Mother\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e is an insider's appreciation for the artistic minds of technologists amid a corporation's unrealistic expectations for innovation.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn his career as a mechanical engineer, Rob Brownell designed consumer products ranging from children's toys to medical devices. He is named on nearly thirty patents.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 2017, he was diagnosed with ALS and was later confined to a wheelchair where he writes by means of voice control. Contrary to the fiction you might eventually read in his obituary, he is not bravely battling the disease-he is struggling to maintain a sense of humor while extending his creative life.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHis first novel, \u003cem\u003eInvention Is a Mother\u003c\/em\u003e, was launched on Kickstarter in June 2022, closing at more than 400% funded. During that campaign, fans of the book raised over $11k in donations for Team Gleason, a nonprofit that provides assistive technology to ALS patients.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Syllaballistics Publishing\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/17\/2022\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798985926408\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 314\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.88lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.66d","brand":"Rob Brownell","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42389554462901,"sku":"9798985926408","price":12.74,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_7cf46228-82da-4fbe-8077-26069e5d0a91.jpg?v=1663682071","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/invention-is-a-mother-9798985926408","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}