Two stories and two poems open up Strange Horizons' October issues. And they are filled with yearning, with family, with hurt, and with the hope of healing. In all of the pieces, though, that healing looks very different. For some it's a personal thing that comes with freedom from other people's expectations. For others it's a societal thing that comes only through a collective effort to work for justice and against the pull of authoritarianism. In all of them, though, there are characters seeking to come to terms with their lives and the tragedies that have found them. Dark but glowing with a persevering light, they are difficult and beautiful, and I'll get right to reviewing them.