1. Once upon a time, in the Southern Resident community off the coast of the Pacific Northwest, a female orca gave birth to a calf but the baby died within the hour. The mother, known as Tahlequah or J35, carried her dead calf for a number of days, attracting worldwide attention in her spectacle of grief. More than a week passed and Tahlequah showed no signs of letting go, but as she became weaker the other female orcas in her pod took turns carrying the dead calf in a stunning display of maternal support and community. This was no mere gesture. The calf weighed 400 pounds, and it’s estimated that the orca pod swam around 1,000 miles during what came to be known as the “grief tour.” Millions of people around the world empathized with Tahlequah and responded by creating essays, poems and artwork. We are naturally captivated when animals act in ways that seem to fit a human narrative; we instinctively project our own emotions onto other species. Orcas may actually be worthy of …

Olympia, Washington 2019  You are a thirty five year old wife and mother of three, who just started a job teaching English language learners at a new school. Your husband tells you about a conference he has the opportunity to attend in the Pacific Northwest. In a rare moment of spontaneity, you say, “Let’s do it, let’s go.” You haven’t been on an airplane in five years, you just completed a master’s degree, and your youngest is right on the cusp of aging out of the free seat. Why not? Excited to be shown around the PNW by your husband, who attended college in Olympia, you request your days off at work and book the flights on a credit card.  Two days before your flight, you check your To Do list and note how hard it will be to travel with a four and an almost two year old. You are grateful your oldest can go to his father’s house a few minutes away. On your lunch break, you open up your laptop and see …