To embark on writing a full-length novel (80,000 to 90,000 words) demands a long-term commitment that may take several years. Happy the writer who can complete such a project in one to two years! As with my first two novels, I estimated a four-year period for the completion of my creative nonfiction work-in-progress. Since writing the first draft in 2020, I had planned for revision and publication in 2024. Sad to say, things didn’t go according to my goal. Due to both personal and external forces, shared with readers over the past four years, my focus stalled (writer’s block), wavered, and changed.

The unrelenting violence against the Palestinians in Gaza, especially the children, continue to disturb my sleep. Only a god created in men’s image of oppression, conquest, and colonization would sanction such violence against humanity.

Even more consequential is humankind’s ongoing violence inflicted on the Web of Life together with the interconnected atmospheric and oceanic systems that sustain all lifeforms, including our own, on Mother Earth.