Words have weight, and Kephart, prolific writer, teacher, and critic, reminds us they can reveal our world anew when wielded with care. In this memoir-in-essays, Kephart explores her various selves as the American wife of a Salvadoran artist, caring daughter to her aging widower father, and a writer never far from the question of why. From the serenity of a kayaking-on-the-lake moment to fragmenting struggles with self-criticism, Kephart deftly and succinctly captures entire expanses of human experience. She writes of the hobbies she has tried, and we see her as a meticulous gardener, an Ikebana flower artist, a novice but growing bolder potter, a humbled dance student learning to trust the music, and an amateur photographer, all pieces of a life that, as Kephart reveals in an understated yet powerful way, make the writer whole. The one-out-of-many theme is reinforced by Kephart's mastery of the distillation of language and structure. The way she shares her vulnerabilities, especially in relationships, captures something universal even though they are experiences unique to her. And Kephart demonstrates an artistic elegance in signaling how relationships are simultaneously restrictive and freeing. Kephart's essays are a joy to read as they reveal a self-aware writer at work and offer new perspectives on how we can experience life.