On a visit to a Bandra thrift store, I lucked into a photo anthology of resumption titled The Other Side of War: Women’s Stories of Survival and Hope. Finding a pre-owned article with a voice that resonates with you is truly serendipitous. Photos depicting the lives of women across six war-torn regions of the world with un-revised first-person accounts made me cry but the tears didn’t always show. These women share episodes that teach readers about renewal, building dreams on tragedy and learning new skills.