Without: Stories of Lack and Longing

What’s missing in your life? What keeps you up at night? What will make you happy? What will make you whole?

These are the things that the stories in Without explore. Lack, a companion to all, reveals itself in different ways in these fifteen tales, offering glimpses into how we live without the things we want, need, or think we ought to have. Through the eyes of characters from across the world, Without brings you into lives where contentment is just out of reach. On the way to visit her grandfather’s grave, a young girl discovers the meaning of compassion. An encounter between two strangers on the Athens Metro reveals different takes on the migrant crisis.

An unwelcomed visitor prompts a Canadian couple to reassess their life together. Noisy neighbours awaken a solitary sonographer's denied desires. A high-flying advertising man in Hong Kong gives up more than he intended, for the next big slogan. Through encounters with the sea, a woman walks through her fears, and learns about loving and letting go. Whether what’s missing is intangible – courage, liberty, imagination, or a new beginning, or something more substantial like a lover, a child, or a home, life is seen in different colours, for those without.