A memoir and a manual
A Gulf War veteran, a lawyer, and a father looks back on his own life and asks what we owe the people closest to us and the country we share. Twenty-five principles, tested against one real story.
“Within its firm borders, we learned to listen, to argue without destroying, and to disagree without disowning.”Chapter 2, Zen and the Art of Citizenship
Where do you want to start?
If a video brought you here
The videos talk about family, estrangement, and self-government. The book is where those ideas began: a life lived first, then the principles that explain it. It is not a how-to for getting anyone back. It is a record of what one father learned about authority, duty, and love.
Read Chapter 2 freeIf you want the story
From a Pennsylvania kitchen table to Fort Knox, the Gulf War, the Bronx, and a four-hundred-dollar boat. Reflection questions and family activities close each stretch of the road.
See the Trade EditionIf you teach, study, or practice law
The full memoir plus a reference to every principle, with Federalist Papers connections, landmark cases, and seven appendices of primary sources.
See the Academic EditionTwo editions, one story
Both editions contain the complete memoir. The Academic Edition adds the reference material.
Free sample
Chapter 2 is where the book’s central idea first appears: that the family is the first republic, and that self-government is learned long before it is tested. It is the best single chapter to read before you decide.
About the author
Christopher signed his enlistment papers at 17, drove a tank in the Gulf War, and went on to earn a J.D. and a Master of Intellectual Property. He practiced law for 14 years. He has been homeless, and he lived alone on a sailboat on the Gulf of Mexico for ten years.
He wrote this book to teach the principles of self-government by showing where he learned them, and where he failed them.
Questions
If you want the story, get the Trade Edition. If you teach, study, practice law, or want the principles laid out with sources, get the Academic Edition. It includes the entire memoir.
It teaches constitutional principles through one life. It is not a campaign book and it does not endorse candidates or parties.
The author wrote the content and verified the facts. An AI served as editor, research assistant, and interlocutor, and the book says so openly in its front matter and in A Note on Method.
No. It does not promise reconciliation or tell you what someone else will do. It shows one person trying to govern himself well when other people are out of reach.
Start here
Chapter 2 is free, takes about eight minutes, and tells you whether this book is for you.