Intersections

Abstract

Intersections, points at which divergent roads come together, is a common theme in this collection of essays. Perhaps a more descriptive title for these essays, however, might be “How did I get HERE from THERE?!!” That is, the authors, in a number of these essays, seem amazed at how their choices, often seemingly at odds with previous academic experiences, resulted in academic careers in which they now study individuals and families. Reading these essays allows one to understand how fortuitous or unpredictable experiences and relationships helped to shape their lives and careers. As one reads these accounts, the authors often seem to be trying to make sense of the important “intersections” that provided incremental and successively new directions to their lives. Specifically, the concept of “life intersection” refers to points in life when specific directions were taken, some involving serendipity, sudden obstacles, or based on advice that was given. Different directions were taken by these authors at these intersections due largely to disconnected events, unanticipated happenings, forced circumstances, and fortunate contacts with friends or mentors. These individuals often pursued new pathways when they came to successive intersections in their lives, a process that eventually led them HERE. The pathways these authors pursued did not emerge from singleminded purposes, but were governed more by unanticipated circumstances. The stories that these individuals tell do not proceed according to clearly defined plots or some sense of purpose conveyed by more conventional novels about progress in life. Instead, the very process of telling their stories encourages them to assign meaning to their life ex-