In Eshed Dagan’s All the Lives We Could Have Led, a mother and her son journey across California in an interpersonal odyssey of love, comfort, and reconciliation.

As Avia and her son, Lavi, get off the plane in San Francisco, the first stop of their trip across the Golden State, she cannot help but feel just a little hopeful. Maybe their time together will bring them closer and even bridge the emotional chasm separating them – filled with silences and volatile, intense confrontation.

Since before her divorce, both Avia and Lavi have held on to pieces of their past – shards and fragments that continue to drive a wedge through their relationship: an abusive husband, a domineering father, illness, addiction; pieces Avia hopes to put together as they tour the landscape of Lavi’s blissful childhood, and her gravest mistakes.

As river valleys give way to deep forests and wide ridges, each stop delicately peels off a different layer of their relationship. Avia is a survivor – she’s always been a survivor. But as they approach their final destination, as the core of their emotional journey is revealed, she wonders: Is it too late for them to finally accept each other – and to have a second chance at a happy family?