To be thankful for something is to feel deep within one's heart an ultimate peace with the situation-that all is well. There is not a person in this world who has not at least once felt gratitude; it is a universal emotion, expressed in a plethora of ways. For writers, the power of words is enough to be thankful for, but the ability with which to use them effectively is a blessing so great that it cannot help but manifest itself. Good writing cannot be contained; it must be shared. Thus, we present to you The Essence Treasury: Expressions of Gratitude, our second annual anthology. It is a collection of writing expressing gratitude, authored by talented members of writers' groups across Canada and the United States. As the fastest-growing custom book publisher in North America, our mission at Essence Publishing is to provide a voice for the exceptional writing that may otherwise be missed by mainstream or royalty publishers. It is our sincere wish that as you read, our thankfulness may be passed onto you through the impact of words well written.