Ill­ness is the arma­ture, but not the sole focus, of her sto­ry. It pro­pels her into a quest for new mean­ings as she learns to lis­ten to her body, redis­cov­er her soul, and find heal­ing even when a cure is impos­si­ble. Plagued with loss after loss, she plunges deep­er into her Jew­ish her­itage and its wis­dom, learn­ing Hebrew and Torah can­til­la­tion and becom­ing a Bat Torah. As she learns to pray, her fal­ter­ing body drops away like a tat­tered shawl, and she is flood­ed with grat­i­tude for what remains. Fierce joy: not a tepid, sim­ple hap­pi­ness, but one that flames up despite harsh moments. It’s hon­ey from the rock of loss and pain; the ecsta­sy that burns its flame despite grief and dread; the delight born of small events and lov­ing people.