Editing Don't Call Me Jupiter (section)

== Books in the Series ==

=== Book One: ''Tightrope'' (2021) ===

{{Infobox book
| name          = Don't Call Me Jupiter — Book One "Tightrope"
| subtitle      = Memoir of a Reluctant Hippie Kid
| author        = Tom J. Bross
| publisher     = Independently published
| pub_date      = 2021
| isbn          = 979-8598485941
| genre         = Memoir
}}

The first volume opens in '''1974''' and follows twelve-year-old Tom Bross through a sudden uprooting from [[Davis, California]] to [[San Anselmo, California|San Anselmo]] to live with the family's so-called "God Family." Only two months later, the family moves back to Davis with nowhere to live. Tom's siblings are dispersed among friends' homes, while Tom himself ends up sleeping in the garage of one of his mother's former lovers.

From this bleak starting point, Bross reconstructs the family's "truly strange transition" and delves into his earlier childhood. The narrative introduces his mother, '''Mare''', whose embrace of [[hippie]] counterculture ideals—including a permissive attitude toward [[cannabis|marijuana]] and [[hallucinogen|hallucinogens]]—stands in stark contrast to the rigid discipline of their stepfather, '''John'''. Bross chronicles how drug use became normalized within the household and the psychological toll this took on him and his siblings.

Despite the dysfunction, the bonds between the Bross siblings emerge as a source of warmth and resilience throughout the book.

'''Themes:''' Abandonment, parental neglect, counterculture, drug normalization, sibling loyalty, identity formation.

=== Book Two: ''Lightning Crashes'' (2021) ===

{{Infobox book
| name          = Don't Call Me Jupiter — Book Two "Lightning Crashes"
| subtitle      = Memoir of a Reluctant Hippie Kid
| author        = Tom J. Bross
| publisher     = Independently published
| pub_date      = 2021
| isbn          = 979-8499401965
| genre         = Memoir
}}

The second volume fast-forwards to '''1996''', when a '''suspicious death''' within the family sends shockwaves through the now-disbanded Bross family and forces them back together. Tom, described as "the quintessential lifetime bachelor," is thrust back into the chaos of his family's world as they scramble to determine what happened and care for the two young children left behind.

The central mystery of the book—whether the death was the result of murder, drugs, abuse, or some other cause—gives the narrative a dramatic urgency absent from the first volume. The book grapples with the long-term consequences of choices made during the 1970s and examines whether the cycle of abandonment that defined the family can be broken.

'''Themes:''' Cycles of dysfunction, grief, family crisis, accountability, forgiveness, legacy.

=== Book Three: ''Wheel in the Sky'' (2022) ===

{{Infobox book
| name          = Don't Call Me Jupiter — Book Three "Wheel in the Sky"
| subtitle      = Memoir of a Reluctant Hippie Kid
| author        = Tom J. Bross
| publisher     = Independently published
| pub_date      = September 20, 2022
| pages         = 388
| isbn          = 979-8353482420
| genre         = Memoir
}}

The concluding volume follows Tom as he takes on the most daunting challenge of his life: becoming a '''single parent''' to his two young nephews following his sister's death. Known within the family as "the fun and goofy uncle," Bross suddenly finds himself solely responsible for raising the boys and providing them with a stable home.

The book explores his growing self-doubt—questioning whether he can give the children the life they deserve, and whether a traditional two-parent household might serve them better. The promises of family support prove unreliable, and Tom is largely on his own. The decisions he makes in this final volume, the narrative suggests, will permanently alter the trajectories of everyone involved.

The book is described as the conclusion to the question posed across the entire series: '''Will the cycle of abandonment be broken?'''

'''Themes:''' Parenthood, sacrifice, self-doubt, family obligation, breaking generational cycles, redemption.