A Collection of Short Stories that Came Out of Sheer Coincidence: Pieces on Human Existence, Love, Loss and More

Photo by Jonathan Borba from Pexels

I think we all have a story to tell. A story that — while it may not be earth-shattering or particularly important in the grand scheme of things — has an impact on the way we see the world. In this book, you’ll find stories from people who are just like you and me, with no particular skills or talents other than being able to express themselves through words. Stories about love lost and found again, about family bonds and life’s journey, about shared experiences that somehow feel unique when they’re put into words and shared with others. When one of the authors connected with me through Instagram and asked me if I wanted to join, I said yes. I knew exactly what pieces I wanted to share.

I just didn’t know how hard it would be to edit those pieces. I had written the short story a while back as a way to exorcise the haunting moment of being witness to my husband trying to end his life. I wrote it and put it away for close to a year. Since the anthology is about examining the human experience, I knew that I wanted to share this piece. I figured I had healed enough from that moment to edit the work. I had not.

In the piece ‘I Love You,’ I put the main character in the moment when my husband stood in front of me with a gun pressed…