As strange as it seemed, I knew in my heart that one day her death would affect me, and stranger still, that mine would affect her. - Jhumpa Lahiri

Each revelation was devastating. Everything she said. And yet, even as my life shattered in pieces, I felt as if I were finally coming up for air.

Immersing herself in a third language, a third culture, had been her refuge — she approached French, unlike things American or Indian, without guilt, or misgiving, or expectation of any kind. It was easier to turn her back on the two countries that could claim her in favor of one that had no claim whatsoever.

My grandfather always says that's what books are for. To travel without moving an inch.