Summary

Much like the immediately preceding essay, “Against the Grain,” the essay “The Fourth State of Matter” takes place when Jo is in the post-divorce stage of her adulthood. Jo has moved to Iowa City and spends her days moving around in an emotional stupor. Jo spends a lot of time and energy caring for one of her three dogs, a beloved old collie who is both incontinent and has difficulty walking, leading to a need for frequent clean-ups. A family of squirrels has also moved into one of the rooms in Jo’s house. Jo calls on a handy friend, Caroline, to remove the squirrels, which Caroline does humanely.

Jo is also working at an accommodating, low-stress job at a space physics journal, which is run by her boss, Christoph Goertz. Goertz is a hands-off boss...