As with the end of every episode, Chuck Lorre has his own Vanity Card. This episode vanity card reads in part. CHUCK LORRE PRODUCTIONS #120 There are moments where I feel driven to tear through the sitcom surface of things and expose the rage, fear, greed, envy and lust that quietly fester in the shadows of my being. In order to accommodate these dark, corrosive feelings. I've decided to use my vanity card to begin writing a novel. The book will be a work-in-progress. This means you will often come across a passage that will be re-written or simply thrown out. You will also join me in occasional episodes of writers block and/or lethargy which bring the entire process to a grinding halt. A word of caution, I've never written a book before and I fear I'm not up to the task. Of course part of that fear may stem from the fact that as I write these words, I don't know what the book is about. I just know that it will have no easy jokes, just the bitter, hurtful truth that is our daily human condition. With that said, I now present chapter one of: The title is lined out here. HOPE DIES SLOWLY by Chuck Lorre I AM THAT I AM by Chuck Lorre When Larry Sudarkis woke up that cold, dreary October morning he had no plans to start a new world religion. He was in too foul a mood to articulate a set of spiritual principles that would someday inspire millions to commit genocide. If anything, he planned on putting in an honest day's work and the return home to kill (lined out)his wife(lined out) himself.