Every once and a while, it is easy to reminisce about the past, the events that have transpired, and ask ourselves if the moments leading up too today were a matter of fate or of destiny? Are all events random, do we have no control over what happens, or is there a higher power at work that pre-determines how our lives will un-ravel? When examining the main character Deo, from Tracy Kidders "Strength in What Remains," and all the major events that could have been easily disregarded, it’s hard to believe that some form of luck wasn’t involved. However at the same time to believe that his experiences were completely pre-written and that Deo had no free will over what had happened in his life is beyond preposterous. Deo’s story of success can’t honestly be explained by either, if anything there is a happy medium between the two, some parts that had to be pure luck, and some events that relied on Deo and Deo alone. In our world there are things that can be explained with logic and reason, events that work in a completely random beautiful chaos. Then every once in a while something miraculous happens that is virtually unexplainable, like meeting your true love, or in Deo’s case escaping death. “Noise seemed to be coming from everywhere, and then he heard loud voices right nearby, just outside his doorwayA voice said, “the cockroach is gone. He ran away.” then the trouser legs and feet vanished.” (Kidder 67) When examining this moment in Deo’s life we have to wonder if there is higher power at work and if it was destiny that guided him to where he is today. In these brief couple of minutes Deo escaped death simply by forgetting to lock a door and as the story progresses these small involuntary mistakes begin to shape Deo’s life. Take for instance meeting Sharon, the women who took Deo in and saved him from a cold, depressing death on the streets of Harlem. Think about it now, the United States Census Bureau estimates t