✍️ Echoes and Endings: What Readers Are Saying About Comings and Goings
By Alex Diaz-Granados
When I released Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen, I didn’t expect fanfare. It’s a quiet story — 51 pages long — about a first-time encounter that isn’t quite romance, isn’t quite nostalgia, but something softer, more interior. I hoped it would resonate. What I didn’t expect was how precisely readers would hear its emotional frequency.
Here are a few reflections that stayed with me:
💬 “A Lovely Tale of Empathy” — Denise Longrie
Denise saw Kelly Moore not as a romantic foil, but as a vessel of empathy. Her review captures the emotional logic of the story:
“She sees, something Jim, invisible up to that point, is grateful for.”
That line alone made me pause. Because invisibility — especially in youth — is a quiet ache. And Kelly’s presence, her refusal to mock or push, is the antidote.
💬 “Young Adults, This Is for You!” — Jan Peregrine
Jan’s review bridges the Garratyverse. She connects Comings and Goings to Reunion: Coda, seeing this short story as a kind of emotional preface.
“Most young people do [attend parties] and fantasize meeting someone like Garraty meets Kelly.”
It’s a lovely reminder that even brief stories can carry the weight of longing — and that Jim’s emotional journey resonates across age and experience.
💬 “A Beautiful Story!” — Anonymous
This one floored me.
“Every line is constructed in a way that reminds the reader of the great writers of the past: Hemingway, Fitzgerald…”
I don’t write with those comparisons in mind, but I do write with the same reverence for emotional truth. To be seen in that lineage — even briefly — is humbling.
💬 “Beautiful First-Time Encounter” — Meg Learner
Meg’s review, from across the Atlantic, is brief but affirming.
“Lyrical writing, very thoughtful and a beautiful encounter.”
That’s the heart of it. Not spectacle. Not drama. Just a moment that lingers.
🕯️ Why These Reviews Matter
They remind me that emotional fluency doesn’t need a long page count. That intimacy, when written with grace, can echo far beyond the final sentence. And that readers — even across continents — can feel the quiet pulse of a story that honors presence over plot.
If you’ve read Comings and Goings, thank you. If you’ve left a review, you’ve given me more than feedback — you’ve given me resonance.
And if you haven’t yet met Jim and Kelly, maybe now’s the time.
A Certain Point of View, Too 
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