Two Strangers Knocked During a Christmas Outage. The Moment They Gave Their Names, I Knew Something Was Wrong.

from well-meaning neighbors and coworkers. It never got easier to receive.

“Thank you,” I said, because that’s the script, and then I did what I always did when someone stepped too close to my grief: I retreated into practical tasks.

I made soup, balancing a pot on top of the woodstove where the surface was hot enough to heat things slowly. It was canned continue reading …