Reentry72

This essay was originally writtenafter the sudden passing of my sister,Sharon, in December 2014.

Between grief and nothing I will take grief.

—William Faulkner

In December 2014, as many readers were probably preparing for the Christmas holiday, I found myself again seeking solace in the desert, struggling to come to terms with the loss of a loved one. Somewhere else, thousands of miles away, a luminous thread of consciousness, as delicate and beautiful and noble as I had ever known, flickered its last light and left my world forever darker.

I have been here before. At other such times, after receiving similar news and excusing myself from human company, I sought comfort in wild places. This time the news found me already in the wild, ...

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