Foreword / by Leslie Jamison --
Introduction / by Colleen Kinder --
To the Traveling Magician, GRANADA, NICARAGUA / Leslie Jamison --
To the Woman Who Found Me Crying Outside the Senate, WASHINGTON, DC / Rachel Swearingen --
To the Father Paused Under the Tree, GRAND CANYON, ARIZONA / Anjali Sachdeva --
To My Lost Trishaw Driver, MANDALAY, MYANMAR / Pico Iyer --
To the Child on the Plane, THE CASCADES, OREGON / Lia Purpura --
To My Arctic Vardøger, PYRAMIDEN, NORWAY / Alexander Lumans --
To the Girl in the Tattoo Parlor, DALLAS, TEXAS / Michelle Tea --
To the Face in the Subway Glass, BERLIN, GERMANY / Annie Schweikert --
To the Loner at High Altitude, TRES CRUCES, PERU / Elizabeth Kolbert --
To the First Responder After the Storm, NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA / David Parker Jr. --
To the Boy Who Climbed onto My Hammock, MAZUNTE, MEXICO / Emily Matchar --
To the Man I Believe Was Good, PALERMO, ITALY / Lauren Groff --
To the Man Who Saw Cobras Dance, AUROVILLE, INDIA / Meera Subramanian --
To the Woman Who Wanted to Go Shoe Shopping, XI'AN, CHINA / Vanessa Hua --
To the Chatty Man Who Pierced the Quiet, CANAAN, NEW HAMPSHIRE / Peter Orner --
To the Boo Radley of My Childhood, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA / Madelaine Lucas --
To the Grandfather I Hardly Knew, SICILY, ITALY / Peter Turchi --
To My Grandmother, c/o the Mush Hole, TSI KANATÁHERE / Amber Meadow Adams --
To the Girl at the Riverbend, BAKER RIVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE / Howard Axelrod --
To the Stranger in My Family, BETHESDA, MARYLAND / Kiki Petrosino --
To the Man Who Spoke with His Hands, SOUTH CHINA SEA / Ying Reinhardt --
To the Taxi Driver Who Looped Back to Get Me, PARIS, FRANCE / Irina Reyn --
To the Woman Whose Shoulder I Slept On, NEW YORK CITY TO BOSTON / Naomi Gordon-Loebl --
To the Source Who Kept Changing Costume, DHAHRAN, SAUDI ARABIA / Keija Parssinen --
To Father of the Baby with the Brain Freeze, TUCSON, ARIZONA / Margo Steines --
To the Inescapable Teacher, PARAKOU, BENIN / Erica Cavanagh --
To the Gambler I Met in Jury Duty, CHINATOWN, NEW YORK CITY / Jenessa Abrams --
To the Stranger from the Silver Hour, ROCAMADOUR, FRANCE / Colleen Kinder --
To the Pharmacist on Futong West Street, BEIJING, CHINA / Monet Patrice Thomas --
To the Woman Who Spared Me an Orange, OAXACA, MEXICO / Sarah Menkedick --
To the Driver I Followed, INTERSTATE 40, NORTH CAROLINA / Matthew Olzmann --
To the Man Who Sold Me Shoddy Film, HARAR, ETHIOPIA / Meron Hadero --
To Sandals Man, AN AIRPORT TERMINAL, CENTRAL CHINA / Craig Mod --
To the Driver Who Was Not Godfrey, KAMPALA, UGANDA / Raksha Vasudevan --
To the Waiter Who Left Me a Tip, BEYOĞLU DISTRICT, ISTANBUL, TURKEY / Michael Agresta --
To the Doctor I Never Thanked, TARRYTOWN, NEW YORK / Aria Beth Sloss --
To the Woman Who Walked Beside Me, YONKERS, NEW YORK / Sarah Perry --
To the Drunk Mr. Flunchy, AVIGNON, FRANCE / Gregory Pardlo --
To the Seller of Breadcrumbs, BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA / Cutter Wood --
To the Woman on the Park Bench, CENTRAL PARK, NEW YORK CITY / Aviya Kushner --
To My Steadfast Danish Soldier, COPENHAGEN, DENMARK / Julie Lunde --
To the Young German Horsewoman, Chosen to Help with Réttir, ÓBYGGÐASETUR ÍSLANDS, ICELAND / Pam Houston --
To the Lady of the Platform, NEW YORK, NEW YORK / Jacquelyn Mitchard --
To the Italian Whose Name I Lost, FLORENCE, ITALY / Julia Glass --
To the Traveler Who Hid Cash in Her Underwear, RWANDA-TANZANIA BORDER / Ted Conover --
To the Lady of the Blackberries, HAPPY CAMP, CALIFORNIA / Kelly Ramsey --
To the Logari Who Asked About the Sun, LOGAR PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN / Jamil Jan Kochai --
To the Roomful of Travelers Watching Reality TV, LA PAZ, BOLIVIA / Anna Vodicka --
To Mario, 26-Year-Old Bestie to My 78-Year-Old Mom, SUNNYSIDE, WASHINGTON / Faith Adiele --
To the Son of the Victim, SANTA ROSA, CALIFORNIA / Sophie Haigney --
To the Woman with the Restraining Order, HOODSPORT, WASHINGTON / Meg Charlton --
To the Woman We Met Before the Flood, PAI, THAILAND / Maggie Shipstead --
To the Servant Girl Who Shared My Toys, KARACHI, PAKISTAN / Sheba Karim --
To the Keeper of the Fawn, CHISAGO CITY, MINNESOTA / Sally Franson --
To the Woman Harboring a Gringo, SAN ISIDRO DEL GENERAL, COSTA RICA / Jesse Donaldson --
To the Poet Who Disappeared, OKINAWA, JAPAN / Akemi JoƯson --
To the Woman in the Earrings, PROVINCETOWN, MASSACHUSETTS / T Kira Madden --
To the Protagonist of a Too-Short Story, US ROUTE 17, NEW YORK / Carlynn Houghton --
To the Follower of Cheikh Bamba, DAKAR, SENEGAL / Emmanuel Iduma --
To the Father of the Lost Chilean Son, CHILEAN BASE, ANTARCTICA / Carin Clevidence --
To the Man Who Had a Wife, COSHOCTON, OHIO / Rachel Yoder --
To the One Who Was Supposed to Get Away, KO PHA NGAN, THAILAND / Lavinia Spalding --
To the Stranger My Doctor Heard All About, PORTLAND, OREGON / Robin Romm --
To the Deliveryman Who Gave Me a Lift, CARACAS, VENEZUELA / Lucas Mann --
To the Girl I Didn't Love on the Last Bus Home, GUANACASTE, COSTA RICA / Jeremy B. Jones.
