The Biographer

The biographer is named Roberta Stephens, but often goes by Ro. She is 42 years old, and teaches history at Central Coast Regional High School in Newville, Oregon. She is a strong, intelligent, and solitary woman. She is desperate to have a child, and is trying various medications in order to increase her fertility, including herbal remedies from the mender. She is working on a biography of Eivor Minervudottir, an arctic explorer from the Faroe Islands in the 1800s. This biography is more than just a hobby to her, and she has dedicated years to it. She is friends with Susan and Didier Korosmo. She had a brother, Archie, who struggled with substance abuse, and later died. She sometimes questions her desire to be a mother.

After being diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome, Roberta learns she can never conceive. When she finds out about Mattie's pregnancy, she wants...