In Short – Issue 4 (Winter 2026)

January 31, 2026

Image credit: Rachel Turney

Second Diagnosis

By Jen Dary

During the brief, suspended minutes between reading the results and sharing them with you, we live in separate worlds. You are preparing for Thursday, packing a green lunch box and telling the dog she is a good girl. I am canceling Christmas, quitting all the Sign-up Geniuses, disconnecting from growing old. The unknown will have its way with us again.

I am waiting for the right moment to say “hey, come downstairs, I need to show you something.”

Give me a minute. I’ll get there.

I just can’t say it yet.

Jen Dary is a writer and leadership coach. She lives in Northern Virginia with her husband, sons, one dog, and one cat. Her debut book, I Believe in Everything: A Memoir of Illness, Motherhood, and Magic, was published in January 2026.