When her teenage son experiences failure, Gina is annoyed by her husband’s indifference. But did Martin secretly hope their son would fail all along?  

Philosophy - Comedy - Domesticity 

Failing Our Son is an original short story by Doe Wilmann 

If you’d like to read the script of this episode go to meaninglessproblems.com and sign up to my monthly newsletter. You can also email me via the contact form. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the podcast. 

You might enjoy this episode if you like:

Fiction that makes you think 

Philosophical fiction 

Rugby

Fruit Bowls 

Contemplating the meaning of life 

Any form of philosophical enquiry 

Things to consider when listening: 

How can failure be beneficial? Is it wrong to tell your child they can achieve great things? What’s the highest number of people you can share this podcast with? 

This episode is part of my challenge to write, record and produce a short story every single week for a year. If you’re looking for quality, suspense and intrigue, I’m not making any promises. But if you do like one of these stories please share it with your friends. 

If I complete this challenge and the podcast gets 1,000 subscribers in the process, a group of my friends have agreed to donate a combined £1000 to Alzheimer’s Research UK. 

And if you’re a writer, maybe this will inspire you to take on a similar challenge yourself. In which case, let me know about it via email. doewilmann @ outlook.com

For writing tips and advice, follow me on TikTok (@piecesofdoe)

I also have an Instagram (@meaninglessproblems) and Twitter (@piecesofdoe) account but I can’t promise I’ll use them. 

Website:

Piecesofdoe.com or Meaninglessproblems.com 

Thanks for listening 

Credits:

Thanks to Katie Empett and Ross Hindle for reading early versions of this episode and providing notes. 

Artwork by Katie Empett

Music by Claude Debussy with permission from Pond5. 

A license to use the media ((Debussy Suite Bergamasque, Clair De Lune (Piano Cover) 229744340 Music ahawke99110 2023-03-02 Individual) was purchased under Pond5's Content License Agreement, a copy of which is available for review at https://www.pond5.com/legal/license. The Pond5 license authorizes the licensee to use the media in the licensee's own commercial or non-commercial production and to copy, broadcast, distribute, display, perform and monetize the production or work in any medium - including posting and monetization on YouTube - on the terms and conditions outlined therein. 

Meaningless Problems with Doe Wilmann

(C) 2023