Channeling the conflict between street life and safe spaces, Twice Upon a Time tackles the question, "What does it mean it be a man?" in a hostile and gentrified world. Following the death of yet another young man in Little Lancet, Jeremiah, Emmanuel, and the boys must band together to survive the internal process of self-destruction and an uphill battle toward faith and salvation. From public brawls to barbershop debates, Carrero's vignettes approach the charged topics of violence, adultery, and nihilism with scope and nuance, creating a carnivalesque mosaic of masculinity's causes and effects. At the novel's core, we hear the call to action, "Unclasp those hands and use them, God. Yes, God. I'm talking, you, God." These words call men and their respective communities to seek the healing practices of creation and the bonds of brotherhood to overcome generational trauma and violence.