In the case of Confessions of a Fake Priest, my publisher did it for me. “Caroline, this book is part of a series. Each book in the series has 128 pages. Yours has 312. Which 200 pages would you like to cut?”

This new one, though, The Space Between . . . , has nothing to do with word counts or numbers of pages. This new one has only to do with the urgency of the subject matter: human accountability for the state of our imperiled planet, and a vision of hope to stand in the face of such unparalleled destruction. More important than the book itself are the conversations I hope it will generate. For that reason, let’s think of it as a book without covers, and chapters of blank pages.