Tusaayaksat – Summer 2018

I grew up reading fantasy novels and used to malign the fact I lived in such a boring world lacking adventure, dragons and great quests. But for all of us, in different ways, it doesn’t take long to discover that dragons are very real. Stories like Frodo’s in The Lord of The Rings or Jesus Christ’s in The Bible resonate because of the inherent truth in the experience they are telling. Nothing is more indicative of what it means to be human than Jesus being nailed to the cross and tortured unfairly. Nothing is more real than the immense burden Frodo carries in the One Ring, straight into the fires of Mount Doom. We’ve all been there. What is fair about Lesa Semmler’s mother being shot, or Rex Cockney losing his parents to a fire? Those are dragons if there ever were ones. And they’re as terrifying and powerful as they would have been to the characters in the books. It’s amazing and inspiring that people are able to overcome such tribulations and turn their circumstances around. It’s a torch in the darkness that goes on to light many more. People who conquer their demons improve not just their own situation but the world, in ways that are impossible to fully articulate. Life is responsibility, and there is no greater or more burdensome gift. Anyone brave enough to face their fears – whether they stem from tragedy, rise from inside or loom on the horizon of unexplored territory – carries that responsibility like Frodo did with the ring. It wouldn’t be meaningful if it wasn’t difficult. This edition tells stories of challenges and successes.

—Stewart Burnett, Editor-in-Chief