A man looks back on his father-in-law's life after he passes away, thinking of the many jobs he held and his military service.

In a series of commentaries on the human condition — life, truth, happiness, death — a spinster sister takes in her dead sister’s children; a man is entranced by the endless waves which roll and crash in the ocean; a carpenter wrestles with the burden of being everyone’s confidante; a dying railroad crossing watchman shares a simple but complex wisdom.

A man's lonely life focused on the pursuit of reason and music leaves him questioning what more there may be in the lives of other people and of religion.

In this metafiction, the many lives of an unnamed man are scrutinized as he passes through millennia.

A woman's complicated relationship to her mother is captured in three vignettes: one from directly after her death, one from when she is still alive, and one from years after she is gone.

An elderly woman prepares for her death, but is anxious for someone to listen to her precious memories and cherish them after her death.

An old woman experiences several blackouts as she approaches death.

When an old woman sees her son straining to leave to see the world, she remembers her husband doing the same many years earlier. In a fierce battle pitting love against discovery and adventure, she does her utmost to set him free.

A man thinks about his relationship with his parents (especially his mother) as he watches them grow old. He then realizes that he is now old too.

A man thinks back on his life as he prepares for death and wonders if his existence was meaningful, or simply fleeting.