"Memories of a Distant Star" is a collection of short stories woven around the theme of love invoking a wide range of emotions; happiness, sadness, fear, inspiration, disgust, exhilaration, depression, anger. The subtitle of the book "Love Stories from Heaven and Hell" aptly convey the idea that relationships sometimes are gentle and heartwarming while at other times they can be brutal and heart-wrenching. The stories cover varied aspects of life such as family, war, religion, culture, sex, sexual orientation, handicap, mental illness, politics, philosophy, and provide a realistic portrait of the human condition. Although set in many different countries with diverse cultures they, in essence, are about people who are the same when it comes to everyday struggles and joys of life. They are also about ideas, primarily in defiance of failed traditional values such as the ones based on religious dogma, social control, and political expediency.