When the Stars Go Dark

by Paula McLain

Whatever her life was like before she was given up—whether or not she consciously remembered any of it—that

time would still be with her, I know all too well, embedded in her nervous system, knitted into her singular blueprint.

When you love someone, there’s risk. You can’t avoid it.”

“I wasn’t raised to acknowledge my own feelings, let alone stick up for myself like that.

A charged, stifling feeling in the air around me and in my body.