In a general sense, this book is probably four stars. The beginning was a little slow, and sometimes I was lost in names and place. But by the middle, I was so deeply engrossed in it. I read it slowly, and the way I thought about it through the days, while I walked and cooked and did all my things, it was always on my mind. It is five stars for me, because of how it has shifted possibilities for writing about others, in structure, and in respect and out of love. Carson felt beyond real to me and will continue to live in my head. This is exactly what I needed at exactly the right time, and opened so many doors, offered so much clarity to my own process — an absolute gift of a book. I will probably never shut up about it.