POST SCRIPT—KEY WEST, FLORIDA, FALL 1985

Faith hurried across the parking lot at the College of the Florida Keys. She had decided at the last moment to apply for admission and had missed the first week of classes. Today, her waitress shift at Howard Johnson’s ran overtime. She checked the classroom number on the paper in her hand and pushed through the door, caught by a wave of attention.

“English 101?” said a young man at the front of the class.

Breathless, she looked at him, attracted by the openness in his face. Behind the tortoise-...