When I first started writing The Inheritance, my main character’s name was Bother, because that’s what he was: bothered by a deep emptiness inside. Nothing filled that void. He lived with a persistent sense that something was missing, something just beyond reach.

The name Bother fit his restlessness perfectly, but it quickly became a problem. The word appeared too often elsewhere in the narrative and blurred the meaning I wanted to give it. So I began searching for another name—one that would capture not just his discomfort, but the immaturity that shaped it.

That’s when I found Jejune.

The word means lacking depth, sophistication, or maturity. It describes someone naive, shallow, or simple in thought. That was exactly who my protagonist was at the start of his journey—someone living on the surface, untested by hardship, driven by a vague yearning for meaning but unsure where to find it.

His shallowness became the heart of the story.

Jejune’s search for fulfillment takes him beyond the boundaries of the comfortable world he’s always known. His journey becomes not just one of discovery, but of transformation. Through encounters with symbolic characters, perilous quests, and moral trials, he begins to realize that spiritual truth isn’t found in easy answers or clever words—it’s forged in struggle, reflection, and the willingness to face uncomfortable questions.

That’s the essence of The Inheritance: a coming-of-age allegory that mirrors our own spiritual journeys. We all start a little jejune—restless, uncertain, incomplete. The process of growing up, both emotionally and spiritually, is really about confronting our own limitations and learning to see beyond them.

Through Jejune’s eyes, I wanted to explore that universal longing for something more—the same hunger that drives us to seek meaning, truth, and a sense of purpose in a world that often feels shallow.

We all begin as “Bother”—bothered by emptiness.

 We all live a time as “Jejune”—immature, searching, restless.

 And if we persevere, we grow into something deeper, truer, and closer to what we were meant to be.

Because ultimately, the journey changes us.

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