Written in a varied range of voices (some humorous, some wistful, some with the faint murmurings of disquiet), these essays, as the title suggests, speak of passages, a literal or figurative going somewhere, a passing through to get there. They speak of “turning points,” those pauses in a life when choices are made and life suddenly veers off in new and surprising trajectories. They speak of change, not all the time apparent. For sometimes the change is simply a realization, a dawning in the mind of “what is” versus “what could (or should) be.” This realization can happen with the lucid clarity of a light-bulb-moment, a mind-blowing instance of “eureka.” At other times, it manifests itself as nothing more than a soft, unexpected blow to the heart. But, whatever the case, the “I” in all these essays becomes always transformed. Wiser, of course; more hopeful, perhaps, and unafraid. And poised, once again, to move on.