Summary

The chapter titled “The teacher” is told from the perspective of Jordan Garfield, Yo's college professor and mentor. He recalls the past 15 years of his relationship with Yo, in which she frequently contacted him for recommendation letters to graduate schools, unable to commit to or complete a program of study. She also sent him poems and short stories she had written. The first recommendation letter Professor Garfield wrote was for a Fullbright program, which Yo dropped out of the running for after hastily marrying a hippie named “Sky Dancer” (78). Garfield also tells a personal story about divorcing his wife and falling in love with a fellow professor, Timothy Matthews. After the two had been in a relationship for several years, Matthews contracted HIV and died. The next time Garfield saw Yo, she inadvertently kicked over the box of Matthews' ashes...