Image description front: Front cover of “What Comes Next” showing a misty forest scene with warm golden light.

back cover text: Job loss.  It’s not something that most people want to think about, whether it happens to them or not – but in modern society, it’s all too common for the words “lay off” and “company downsize” to grace a conversation about how life is going.  Through an honest look at the emotions, feelings, and everyday challenges that can come with losing a job, author Heidi Barr illustrates what going through such an event is like. From disbelief to financial concerns to anxiety over the prospect of a two hour commute after ten years of working from home, this essay explores the uncertainty of not knowing what might be coming next, along with the potential for uncovering the beauty that might just be hidden under what feels like destruction.

“With wit and honesty, Heidi Barr relates what she calls “lessons from a layoff,” when her “what if” became “what now?” Navigating the tension between having the work we do define us and finding what truly matters, Barr questions her own work ethic and ability to see beyond the job. Her capacity to transcend a personal moment of destruction reminds us that we all can dig deep, see beauty, and trust in its ability to heal us, inside and out.”  - Amy Nawrocki, author of The Comet’s Tail: A Memoir of No Memory