Summary

Chapter 7. Book titles at the beginning of this chapter: The Art of Condolence; What to Write, What to Say, What to Do at a Time of Loss; No Time for Tears: Coping with Grief in a Busy World; How Everyday Products Make People Sick: Toxins at Home and in the Workplace: and Rock Names: From Abba to ZZ Top: How Rock bands Got Their Names.

In this brief chapter, Orlean describes how letters of condolence and support came to the library from all over the world, and also comments on the after-effects of the fire on library staff. They ranged, she says, from depression and trauma (that in some cases led to relationship breakdowns), to grief and anger, and to fear – of disease, of injury, of the arsonist coming back to finish the job. Orlean also describes how investigators focused on the possibility...