Some pieces explore the small moments that serve as new routines in a life lived at home, as in Joshua Bennett's essay, where a Coltrane playlist sets the stage for early morning dances with his newborn son as they watch the sun come up. Alejandro Zambra remembers the homes of his past, his dog and cat in New York, his old collection of Chilean literature, homes and possessions he lets go of when he makes a new family in Mexico.
Sometimes, it's the absence of change that drives us to the edge. In Lina Mounzer's "The Gamble," a father's incessant hope for a better life festers and sinks the whole family after they leave Lebanon during the Civil War. In Kamel Daoud's heartbreaking tale, a widow's attempt to retreat into the unchanging past edits her son right from her reality. And in "Final Days," Sayaka Murata imagines a future without aging, where people must choose how and when they want to die, consulting guidebooks like Let's Die Naturally Super Deaths for Adults & The Best Spots.
With new writing from Julia Alvarez, Sandra Cisneros, Zahia Rahman, Yoko Ogawa, Yasmine El Rashidi, Lina Meruane, and Aleksandar Hemon, and featuring work from never-before-published writers like Elizabeth Ayre, Freeman's: Change opens a window into the many-sided ways we adapt.