This contemporary, character-driven novel is about people who are stigmatized. However, once they discover their true identities, each is empowered to begin the journey of life's purpose. The man characters are: police officer Tom Jennings, obese as a mutant Idaho potato in a jiggling gelatin suit; James Odessa-Smith, with his schizoaffective disorder; and young Suanna Morningcloud, a person with albinism, half Nez Perce Indian and half Caucasian. Meeting during a botched bank robbery in Prairie Grove, Kansas, they experience tragedy and trauma. Forever changed and connected, they are forced to ask, "Who am I and where do I belong?" Taking Back the Bullet explores the themes of stigma, identity, and self- discovery. The