Two Years Later

Two years. 104 weeks. 730 days. 17520 hours. Two years can pass by in the blink of an eye or take eons to get through. A different experience for different people. Tara Ray was not sure which category she fell under. It had been two years since she had left home to pursue a career. Tara had taken a clean break from life as she knew it. She believed it was her only chance to find herself. Now, she was finally coming home. Not everyone had come to terms with her decision of leaving her husband, children and parents behind. Neither will everyone welcome her with open arms when she returns. When do you realize that nothing is quite the same once you go away? What awaits you when you return? Has your husband moved on? Will your children remember you? Have your friendships stood the test of time? Tara has some secrets of her own too… Here is a gripping narrative of the consequences of a decision that can alter your life in an instant. Can love withstand all odds? How do you reckon with all the changes in your life two years later?

Rising Above the Gathering Storm Two Years Later: Accelerating Progress Toward a Brighter Economic Future summarizes a convocation held in April 2008 to commemorate the release of the original Gathering Storm report. The convocation featured participation by Members of Congress, Cabinet Secretaries, leaders from industry and academia, and other experts. The discussions reviewed progress made thus far in implementing the Gathering Storm recommendations to strengthen K-12 education in math and science, research, higher education, and the environment for innovation. Participants also noted that much additional work is needed to ensure that America remains a leader in science and engineering in the long term.

Two years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the health, economic, and social disruptions caused by this global crisis continue to evolve. The impacts of the pandemic are likely to endure for years to come, with poor, marginalized, and vulnerable groups the most affected. In COVID-19 & Global Food Security: Two Years Later, the editors bring together contributions from new IFPRI research, blogs, and the CGIAR COVID-19 Hub to examine the pandemic’s effects on poverty, food security, nutrition, and health around the world. This volume presents key lessons learned on food security and food system resilience in 2020 and 2021 and assesses the effectiveness of policy responses to the crisis. Looking forward, the authors consider how the pandemic experience can inform both recovery and longer-term efforts to build more resilient food systems.

On a sunny afternoon in August of 1970, the Eastern Caribbean was, without warning, confronted with a terrible and tragic event. The Christena, a well-used ferry that regularly crossed the eleven-mile expanse between the twin islands if St. Kitts and Nevis sank. The two British colonial societies were suddenly thrown into turmoil, finding themselves unprepared to deal with such sudden tragedy. The ferry was registered to carry 155 passengers, but it was severely overloaded. While ninety-nine people survived that afternoon, nearly 250 other passengers perished disaster. As if their struggle to heal after the tragedy was not taxing enough, the islands had yet more adversity to conquer. However, both societies were determined to overcome that terrible event, even as they fought to achieve greater political independence. Told from the perspective of Whitman T. Browne, PhD, a native if Nevis, who lived on the island at the time of the tragedy. The Christena Disaster Forty-Two Years Later is a moving, firsthand account of how these sister communities banded together, not only to win their political autonomy, but also to overcome their emotional suffering as a result of greater tragedy.