Sublime

It personalized death, the faculty said, it restored dignity to the undignified process of dying.

respite,

Des Moines

laudable

For her entire life, unwittingly, she has complied with her parents’ first shared principle: Make no noise in this world. She, Carmen, Amelia—all three Ma girls. Don’t stand out; you have no right. No one owes you a thing. Keep small, vote mainstream, and nod like it all makes sense. Yet here she is, asking for trouble. Acting like what she does mi

Nobody’s perfect, she liked to say. But, man, we all fall short so beautifully.

strident:

William had thought that he’d deadened himself to hope