Acknowledgements

This book was shaped by human loss, human experience, and years of human work on exactly the questions it addresses. It was written in the middle of grief, transition, and urgency — because those are the conditions under which it needed to be written.

The loss, the experience, and the urgency have names.

For Charles, who is still out there.

For my mother, who carried more than anyone should.

For Cat, who carries it with me.