Print Vol. 10

Foreword

Early this spring, I read The Hobbit to my children of 6 and 4 years old. Well, at least I read it to my six-year-old. The four-year-old seemed more content to do headstands and hum to himself. I did my best to recreate an experience from my own childhood: tucked into the blankets of my bunk bed, eyes wide as I listened to my father do the voices of Gandalf, Thorin Oakenshield, Gollum, Smaug, Bilbo and the rest.

As we neared the end of the book, where Bilbo is retracing his steps and saying his farewells to first the dwarves, then the elves, then Beorn, and finally Gandalf (something we accomplished over weeks of reading snippets at a time), I noticed that my six-year-old was crying. I asked her why. “I hate goodbyes daddy. I’m so sad to be leaving Bilbo and his adventure and his friends.”

That’s when I started crying too. “I hate goodbyes as well, sweetheart.” Endings can be really hard. And here we are at another ending: Volume 10 of And Sons, the final print volume and the ending of And Sons. 

After 10 years, two series on YouTube, 34 issues of the online magazine, 242 episodes of the podcast, a feature-length film, hundreds of interactions on social media, email, and in person, and 10 print volumes, it is time for this chapter to end.

As its steward, I feel the emotional nature of this deeply. I am proud of what we have created, brought to my knees by the stories that you, our tribe, have shared over the years. I am grateful for the relationships built over this decade, and for the growth I have personally experienced throughout this endeavor. It’s difficult to land something that I have built with so many other people. But it is also time for the next story to begin.

In the words of Mary Oliver, 

you must be able

to do three things:

to love what is mortal;

to hold it

against your bones knowing

your own life depends on it;

and, when the time comes to let it go,

to let it go.                         

(from “In Blackwater Woods”)

And Sons is hardly a mortal being, but the people that create it, edit it, read it, and share it are. To you I say: Thank you. Endings are hard. It has been my honor to play some part of your story.

 – Sam Eldredge

Contributors

WRITERS

Aaron Hnyduik, Andrew Bauman, Ben Cockrell, Ben Manly, Blaine Eldredge, Darren Thornberry, Erik Swenson, Garat Grant, John Eldredge, Jon Dale, KK, Luke Eldredge, Morgan Snyder, Nic Bovee, Sam Eldredge, Stasi Eldredge

Artwork & Photography

Aaron Hnyduik, Analia Saban, Andreas Dress, Avi Theret, Cody Doherty, Eddie & Carolina Stigson, Eli Dale, Erik Swenson, Fernando Puente, Isaac Smith, Jeremy Bishop, Jess Zoerb, Joel Bengs, Luke Tilden, Novō Adventures, Rob Mulally, Sam Eldredge, Wookie Jones

DESIGN & LAYOUT

Wookie Jones