The Sadness of Maturity

It was a lyrical picture-book text. The subject was spring. And it bounced back because the editor found the tone, somehow, too sad.

My agent was bemused, but when he passed the comment on to me, I understood.

An undercurrent of sadness often shows through in my writing. There is, truth be told, an undercurrent of sadness in me.

I have never been a jolly type, even when I was a child. I have always been thoughtful, even pensive. I love to laugh–don’t we all?–but making others laugh is rarely my...