Second chances

When one thing ends, another begins, whether we are aware of it or not. Life is a series of hardships, punctuated by second chances sometimes provided to us, sometimes created by us through sheer will or tenacity, sometimes not seized, or sometimes not offered because the second chance is for others, and not for ourselves. Resiliency is no guarantee that a second chance will manifest, but it is requisite for survival. We follow our lives’ most difficult episodes by writing new chapters day-by-day. We are creating less than perfect drafts, but we are nonetheless changed as wounds begin to heal, no matter how deep or incurable they seem in our moment of loss. Whatever is taken from us is replaced by a different entity—wisdom or ignorance, a perpetual dance with our grief or our demons, or a new life that resembled nothing of our former self—a dream or a nightmare of our very own. Second Chances is an essay collection organized around the principle of resiliency and change, the forward momentum of life after loss, and the perspective we gain after having survived it.M.F.A.by Doreen Angela Fer