Sometimes, bad things happen. It’s not your fault, and it’s not something you can control. These whirlwinds and riptides grab hold of you and so you grab hold back, trying to keep air in your lungs as you are whipped along.

Bad things happen when you’re young and old. They happen when you’re rich and poor. They happen to girls and boys. There is not one person alive on this earth who hasn’t experienced a bad thing. This should give you comfort, and yet, when the bad thing has you in its grip you feel like you’re all alone. You feel as though no one in the world could possibly understand the pain and terror you are experiencing. You are the only star in the universe, and a black hole has you, and what do you do? What can you do?

You can know you’re not as alone as you…