Eight Stories Explore the Meaning of Reconciliation


Ready, by Jane Lebak
Where Were You, by Nancy Temple
Adam and Eve Drink Hot Cocoa, by Gloria Lloyd
B E A R C H I L D, by L. M. Guiled
Final Words, by Sean Zinn
Against the Wolf Pine, by Howard Wolke
Rena's Cave, by Kathleen Reidy
Unmoored, by Elle Reid

Our lives are filled with relationships: the ones we choose, the ones we're born into, the ones that last for a season, and so many others that are hard to define. They each come with the potential for conflict, which is an inevitable outcome of sharing our lives, time, and space with others. What happens after conflict is a choice: reconciliation, or...something else.

"Reconciliation" is a word that morphs and changes from person to person. Some see it as surrender. Others see it as failure. More see it as acceptance, or winning, or creating something new from the ashes. For many, reconciliation is an unacceptable end to conflict. Others require it and seek it out at all costs. How do you define reconciliation? Each of these stories presents a different interpretation of the idea.