(by Paula Mirk) I imagined myself each morning, emerging from my one-month basement rental as from a cave. I’d surely feel exhilarated just to be on a New Jersey sidewalk instead of in the woods, to be looking across the river at Manhattan’s gleaming skyscrapers instead of the White Mountains. I couldn’t wait to hurry down 59th street, Union City, past a corner market with its bins of plantains and its cashier swathed in a sari. I might meet Pete in the stairwell when I arrived for my shift....

(by Paula Mirk) 1 medium butternut squash 2 - 3 T. olive oil 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped garlic, minced, to taste ground cinnamon, cloves, cumin, or allspice, to taste salt, to taste 1 apple or pear, peeled and seeded Cut squash in half lengthwise, and scoop out the seeds. Bring to boil a pot of water just to cover the squash and boil squash for about 15 minutes, until soft. Remove and set aside to cool, reserving cooking water. In another large pot, add oil. Cook onion and garlic...

(by Kathy Lenney) Meetings like ours weren’t supposed to happen. In the 1960s, once you signed a relinquishment, you permanently gave up your rights to ever see your child again. But Pat found a way around the rules. She paid a private investigator $200, and after a few months, she had my contact information and mailed me a letter inviting me to call. When we spoke on the phone for the first time and I heard her voice, so similar to mine, it felt like God had finally gotten around to me. I’d...