Ann Patchett describes how the idea of death haunts her when she writes fiction. She is plagued by thoughts of what would happen to the entire cast of characters in her head if she were to die suddenly. The thoughts die down each time a novel is finished and begin again when she starts writing a new one.

When the pandemic strikes in 2020, in a reversal of pattern, the thoughts about death arrive even before Ann has an idea for a novel. However, she does not stop writing essays; she is usually always writing them, and it strikes her that thoughts of death don’t haunt her when she writes them. Because essays contain facts that are “verifiable” and thus difficult to kill, “death has no interest in essays” (3).

Ann begins writing longer, personal essays. After writing the title piece of this collection, she decides to house it in a book, and she writes more pieces in addition to reworking older ones. She grapples with the same themes throughout, asking herself questions about “what (matters) most in this precarious and precious life” (5).