Use My Bones is the story of a fifty-five year old homeless man, Kole Carpales. Taken in by the Temple of Tolerance, a quirky church, Kole does grounds work in exchange for a cot in the tool shed. Unusual grounds work. Kole loves all life, dead or alive, and gardening with his special compost. He makes friends with retired church members: Seth, a former biology teacher, Mercedes, a social worker, and Randi, an anthropology professor, all of whom recognize his skills, especially as the church embraces environmentalism. His sunflowers have heads the size of human heads and are sold at the farmers market and on the streets by his homeless friends. His strongest bond is with Evan, a young African American who stutters and has Asperger's syndrome. Both have been outcasts, and they develop a relationship akin to father and son. Kole is ill. His mother is dying. The hospital cannot diagnose the illness. Kole and his mother know what they have, but neither will tell anyone.