Submissions for “Issue 7: Companionship” revealed complex layers of what and who a companion is. Words about companions came in the form of letters between strangers, odes to pets, and lamentations on friendships lost. We came into this issue looking for a conversation that would show readers the binding ties of deep and meaningful relationships, of true companionship.

Issue 7’s authors, however, reminded us that true companionship is fragile and complicated. Parents hide secrets to keep their children safe. Sibling rivalries deepen relationships. In fact, what is left unsaid between companions is just as important as what is. When this issue’s pieces are read together, we discover companionship as a raw and tender thing in need of equally tender care.

That’s our 3cents. Enjoy.

We came to this issue hoping to find a conversation that explores the power and complexity of experiencing substantive and dramatic change. Transformation is hard, and noticing it within ourselves can be even harder. How do we know, in the moment, that we have permanently gone from one version of ourselves to another?

Issue 6’s authors single out one harbinger of lasting change: the moment we transform our thinking (or the moment a thought transforms us in return). When this issue’s pieces are read together, we see transformation as meditation and real change as transformative thought.

That’s our 3cents. Enjoy.
 

Slipping is an odd sensation. Losing the confidence of our steps—the assurance that each foot will be there to support the weight of the next—can be terrifying. It’s not the fall that scares us, but the potential of falling, the possibility of losing control despite our scramble to keep it. 

Issue 5’s authors capture “Slipping” just so: the frenetic scramble to keep things together while they invariably slip away. When read together, we find a conversation on what “Slipping” means as we age, grow apart, and gain perspective.

We’re pleased to share this issue featuring art by Sarah Trout. You can find more of their work on Instagram.

That’s our 3cents. Enjoy.

“Growth” did not disappoint when it came to stimulating and thematic conversations. We saw pieces on growing up, growing apart, and growing closer. We also read about growing emotionally, physically, or spiritually, and some work on refusing to grow at all. We read work that turned “Growth” on its head and spun it in wild and unpredictable ways.

The conversation that (dare we write) blossomed from these three authors felt truly special. Through poetry, flash fiction, and essay, each writer sought to remind us that growing is not a linear path forward. To grow, one has to face the past, exist in the present, and prepare for a future of uncomfortable truths. 

When read together, these three show that “Growth” is a process of reduction, removal, and release.

That’s our 3cents. Enjoy.

The variety of joy, humor, menace, and malice we read while searching for Issue 3’s writers was explosive! And why wouldn’t it be? After all, what could be a more ubiquitous and all-encompassing theme as “Family?”

The conversation our three contributors built stood out in a field of stories and reflections. These works remind us that despite the best of intentions, sometimes families are seen, shaped, and cemented not by the best days, but by the worst ones.

Issue 3 is a reflection on families feeling anguish in the face of the inevitable and families forced to remember what has been forgotten. Each of these pieces shares an individual loss with the reader, but when read together we’re reminded just how universal those losses can be.

That’s our 3cents. Enjoy.

We didn't know what to expect when we asked for submissions for Issue 2. “Fear” as a concept, we discovered, was diverse and nuanced and vast. The scope of fears we received ranged from deeply personal to outright humorous, and while no one sent us a ghost story, we left the selection process haunted all the same.

The conversation that grew out of these three pieces felt destined to come together. One piece had us wincing at the fear of being vulnerable, another at the fear of change, and yet one more at the fear of not changing soon enough. Independently, any one of these writers could reshape our understanding of what it means to truly be afraid, but together they dive into the complexities of being a woman, a mother, a partner, and alone all at once. 

That’s our 3cents. Enjoy.

Our first issue of 3cents Magazine is a reminder of what a beautiful, messy, complicated, and dangerous process starting something new can be. We didn’t know what to expect when we reached out to our first trio of authors, but their work took three threads out of the tangled ball of twine that is “beginnings” and braided together an extraordinary conversation. 

Independently, any of these excellent reads have something to say on starting something new: beginnings are complicated, beginnings are traumatic, beginnings often sneak up when we least expect them. Together, though, these works remind us that no matter how hard we try, we never know what we’re truly beginning to do. 

That’s our 3cents. Enjoy.