Six different stories, six different notes in the human song of longing for the unattainable.

It’s crystal clear to Krasnostein how these six stories of the human experience fit together in quilted glory. It is not clear to me. While interesting, there is no threading that unites these stories of an abuse victim turned murderer, ghost hunters, UFOlogists, new earth geologists, a death doula and her clients, and conservative Mennonites. Just when I thought I had the thread pinned down, I lost it. The scattered interweaving of the six stories did little to help me get my bearings. Adding to the chaos is Krasnostein’s own commentary, surprisingly full of disdain for some of her subjects. Despite these critiques, I’ll admit that these six stories were gripping and illuminating. I both liked and didn’t like this book, which is a bit like the portraits of life documented between the covers. I loved the idea of this, I just wish the execution had been a little cleaner. If it had, I think you would hear about this book on every street corner.