“I have hope, even if it’s hideous,” Kelly Brice Baron’s speaker tells us in “Domestic Hypnosis.” It’s this hideous hope that binds together the people and places, the stories and sorrows of this 30th issue of Waccamaw. Hope in our time forces us to ask hard questions. Our contributors ask us to consider the role of identity in work, occupation, and displacement—what does it mean to be a blue-collar worker, a recent college grad, or a new mom in a world that has become increasingly apathetic to the worker, the migrant, and the refugee? To seek answers, our writers move through stretches of Tennessee plains, London, West Africa, and even an oil painting, where they question tradition and see visions of stark trees and landscapes, places grounded in truth. They prompt us to reflect inward, appreciate the stillness, cherish our loved ones, and find solace in inevitable changes. In this issue of Waccamaw, we hope you find slivers of joy and hideous hope in gritty, feet-on-the-ground living.