“My breathing begins to slow. The tension in my muscles starts to relax.Then, a click in the headphones. A slow breath of air.I open my eyes to bright moonlight.And Hannah, with warmth.Thank you.”

“We lie together, then, warm in the chill of the night. Outside, in the amber glow of the streetlights, it begins to snow. Gwen’s breathing slips into the slow rhythm of sleep. I glance at the door. I know I should go back to my own bedroom, but…just a little while longer, Gwen feels so good in my arms, like a puzzle piece clicking into place.”

“Did you know, when you're around,My heart won't- it can't slow down.It beats so hard, it makes it hard to catch my breath.”

“I closed my eyes and willed my breath to slow, my conscious mind to fold itself inward. I could feel heat pulsing from my daughter's head, her frantic thoughts whirling like broken glass. I loosened my hold on my body and dropped into that whirlpool.”

“As long as I am breathing, in my eyes, I am just beginning.”

“I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and filled myself up with the breeze from the valley. Then I let it out slow so it could get back to its travels, with a little bit of me added to it.”