George Saunders

And he was lagging behind the others and the nuns didn't like that.

And that was the shadow side of the nuns is they were rigorous and could be harsh.

So at the end of one long day, I just – we're getting ready to pack it up.

And I looked over and I see him with his body kind of turned away and he's crying, you know.

And there's something in that moment I felt bad for him, but I also felt bad about myself for being so triumphant, you know?

Like, all I've been thinking of these days is how lucky I was to be me, you know, to be a good reader.

And I was thriving, and he wasn't.

And something about that just hit me, mostly just how—

there wasn't justification for me feeling so great about myself.

Because in the womb, I hadn't checked off the box, say, make me the best reader.

You know, I just showed up.

So that idea really kind of stuck with me.

And for a while, it gave me some real questions about accomplishment.

Like if, you know, if you are sort of pre-baked, not only with skills, but with a lot of ability to make the skills better or the good work ethic, you know,

That's great.

But at what point do you get to say, I did that?

Yeah.

Now, on the other hand, there's another character in the book, this Frenchman, who says, that's nonsense.

You can't live like that.

And I agree with him as well.