The mother of a college-age daughter faces the pain—and the promise—of an empty nest.

“Crossing a line” is a common phrase these days, a staple of the American vernacular. But what does it really mean? Dozens of local writers took a crack at the topic this fall, submitting moving personal essays about line-crossing experiences of love, loss, and more. Here, our top five picks—and our gratitude to everyone who sent us their work.

Where the heart is, where you hang your hat, where you want to be . . . home is in the eye of the beholder. Autumn asks us to hunker down, trim away all but the essentials, and reflect on where we are. Four writers tell fresh stories about home–the ones they’ve lost, made, or found in unlikely places.