my laptop died and i lost my essay how do i get it back?

Try Data Rescue or some other equivalent software. Alternatively, invest in data recovery services. If you have had a Time Machine backup all along, connect it to another Mac and migrate.

Describe the details of "my laptop died...".

Back in December, my MBP decided never to wake up again after I put it to sleep one Monday afternoon. The logic board was fried and the cost to replace wasn't worth it for a 4-year-old and discontinued computer. But the hard drive survived intact and when I got my new MBP I was able to use it to recover ALL my files. Just put it inside an external enclosure and used the Setup Assistant to do the migration.

So, spill the beans and tell what happened, so we may judge whether something is salvageable.

CPR