An Altered Existence is a collection of short stories, each illustrated with a vintage photo. These photos, also known as cabinet cards, were "orphans" collected from flea markets and antique stores. They sparked the author's imagination, and resulted in 14 short stories illustrated with photos "altered" by the author. • A photo of a bearded man with haunted eyes is paired with a silver key, and a story of a family with hoarding tendencies emerges. • A wedding portrait of a young couple, combined with a gold wedding band and the words "false" and "true", yields a tale about a gentle schoolteacher who sets her small town's rumor mill on fire when she poses for a photo with a local scoundrel, though they're not engaged or married. • A young girl's portrait, when paired with vintage buttons, births a story that many can relate to: loss, and the subsequent struggle to feel whole again. Look into these 14 portraits from long ago, and venture into the "altered existences" they inspired. This collection includes stories about life, love, birth, death, self-acceptance, salvation, and taking chances. Their stories just may be our stories, too...