A girl I went to school with disappeared. Nobody talked about what happened to her, but years later it was revealed that she’d joined a cult. I was intrigued. What exactly is a cult? Why do people join them? Why do they stay? What happens if they try to leave? How do they heal afterward?

Jennifer McCartney’s wonderful review of BOY, a sensitive meditation on my novel as a reflection of the stressful pause that COVID-19 has imposed on our lives, has followed me to Ottawa. This is a city not quite in motion, and McCartney’s observations seem particularly apt as I stroll around the downtown with my daughters, Alida, 4, and Nora, 7.

“Well, no,” I say, a little taken aback. “I was on the subway during the bombing, so I totally don’t think it’s okay, but it also doesn’t seem right to just let innocent people die.”

Sandra nods. “I understand. But tough times call for tough decisions. We’ve done this to ourselves. Humans...the most destructive species ever. We’ve ruined the biosphere — The Earth — and overpopulated ourselves.”

— excerpt from Finding Jade