The Collected Regrets of Clover

by Mikki Brammer

When you grow up as an only child, you learn to inhabit your imagination almost as frequently as you do reality. No one can let you down—or leave you—when you’re in control of the story.

“Well, my dear, just as we don’t know how long a match will last until we light it, we never know how long a life will last until we live it. And often there are factors that we have no control over.”

studying with a shaman in the Peruvian Andes, learning about the Incan traditions of death. My favorite was that they had sometimes buried their dead in the fetal position, so as to better their chances of rebirth in the afterlife. I loved the idea of preparing someone for a journey rather than simply saying goodbye.

“I can’t imagine not having pets.” They were what helped make my life livable—beating hearts to come home to each day.