It had been five years since I lost her. Five years of silence in a home once filled with laughter, of dinners eaten alone, of waking up to an empty side of the bed. And now, my daughter—my little girl—has started a new life of her own. I

As I stared out of the airplane window, watching the endless expanse of blue ocean give way to the lush green hills of New Zealand, I couldn’t believe this was actually happening. For years, my college friends and I had dreamt of traveling together, but life always found a

It started as a quiet Saturday evening, with Reena and her mother sitting on the couch, sharing a bowl of popcorn while The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey played. Their ritual had begun years earlier when Reena introduced her mother to the movie, and she had been captivated by the Shire.