Epigraph
Like a spring, young children grow
Then blossom in a summer
Surprised by winter they no longer show
What once they were.
Pierre de Ronsard, ‘Ode à Anthoine de Chasteigner’, 1550
Dedication
For my family and for Priscilla de Laforcade who is a part of it
Table of Contents
12. Before They Were My Parents, They Were Neighbours
13. Revelations about the Lamberts
19. Van Vogt’s ‘Null-A’ and Fred’s ‘A’
28. Brother of the Above-Named
36. The Day I Broke My Mother’s Heart
FOREWORD
The greatest quality of this book is undoubtedly its honesty. When a book is as honest as this, it can lead, almost unintentionally, to genuine revelations about what it means to be human – in this respect, literature is still leagues ahead of the sciences.