States of Matter: five short stories about everything

States of Matter is a collection of five short stories that focus on the spiritual maturity of a group of friends, and primarily the main character, Ray. They are centered around a certain spiritual milestone in his life. The first story takes place when he is ten years old and the last one when he is thirty. They tell the story of how his personality and opinions are constantly being reshaped by his friends, his environment, his society, his sexuality, and various chemical experimentation.