Author Marshall Shelley, who suffered the deaths of two of his children, wrote: ‘Even as I child, I loved to read, and I quickly learned that I would most likely be confused during the opening chapters of a novel. New characters were introduced. Disparate, seemingly random events took place. Subplots were complicated and didn’t seem to make any sense in relation to the main plot. But I learned to keep reading. Why? Because you know that the author will weave them all together by the end of the book. Even when I can’t explain why a chromosomal abnormality develops in my son … even when I can’t fathom why our daughter has to endure two years of severe …retardation and continual seizures … I choose to trust that before the book closes, the author will make things clear.’