"Have you ever wanted to run away from it all to some dusty little town, change your name to Wanda and wait tables while your life changes chapters? Have you ever felt the need to leave the wife behind, hop a train or hitch a ride and seek out the California sun? Have you ever come home to her clothes gone, her keys, her cat and nothing left there but a hint of her perfume? We've all had those times where we've dreamed it, planned it, lived it. This collection of short stories addresses every variation of running away, wanting to run away, and trying to run away"-- These fully realized stories speak in diverse ways to a nearly universal desire. Who has never wanted to run away from something? Every one of these stories has been selected because it contributes to a larger narrative. Every one of them speaks to the questions that belong to that larger narrative. Who are we if we refuse to be shaped by our pasts? Who are we if we choose no longer to be ourselves? Who are we, whether we are left behind or gone? from the forward by Lee Zacharias