Robert Schulman

A Father in Time Robert Schulman

As in "In the Land of the Blind" and "Torman Redux," "A Father in Time" follows the life of psychiatrist Dr. Steve Torman. In this novel he's presented with a patient facing his death who's dealing with an unusual belief that he hopes a psychiatrist will accept and acknowledge as true. Torman also faces the challenge of raising an eight-year-old boy who doesn't know that Torman is his biologic father. When and how to reveal his paternity poses another challenge to Torman. In the midst of this he attempts to engage romantically with a psychiatrist who has a secret of her own. Some characters from the previous two novels reappear, offering the reader the opportunity to follow the trajectory of their lives which intertwine with Torman's. The meaning and impact of fatherhood varies for the characters in this story, and there are no simple answers or guides for how to manage the unpredictable events that alter the lives of the characters as they try to come to terms with their pasts.