Introduction -- Rewiring / Graeme Simsion -- My daughter's lover / Virginia Peters -- The shop / Alice Pung -- Paris scorpion / Gabrielle Lord -- Forget me / Sami Shah -- Life is short / Myfanwy Jones -- Lola / Peter Bishop -- Solving the puzzle / Kerri Sackvillle -- Farther / Sunil Badami -- The lovers of Pompeii / A.S.Patrić -- Pilgrimage / Haley Katzen -- Bruised / Lee Kofman -- Boy, gone / Damon Young -- She's coming home / Kate Goldsworthy -- Divorce, Turkish style / Dmetri Kakmi -- Goodbye and good luck / Ramona Koval -- Aren't you going to ask me why I am angry / Fiona Wright -- Clinging / Kate Holden -- Contributors and acknowledgement.

In this compelling anthology of personal essays, curated by award-winning author Lee Kofman, some of Australia's most beloved writers reveal, for the first time, powerful, occasionally funny and often heartbreaking stories of significant endings and their aftermath. Graeme Simsion, author of The Rosie Project, shares how he discarded his past - perhaps autistic - self, while comedian Sami Shah writes about his public split from Islam, the religion of his birth. Ramona Koval delves into the bittersweet end to her career at the ABC and Fiona Wright explores how her anorexia has affected her romantic relationships. Whereas Kate Holden suggests that for some, splitting - whether from memorabilia, books or lovers - is unimaginable. Join eighteen acclaimed storytellers in their candid and courageous reflections on the intrinsic human experience of loss and leaving, that acknowledge the price we can often pay for a much-needed end, or new beginning.