Korb has a master's degree in English literature and creative writing and has written for a wide variety of educational publishers. In the following essay, she discusses Louise's search for her identity.

In 1986 Andre Dubus, who for the past decade had so perceptively wrote of the "moment of truth" in the lives of ordinary Americans, was himself caught in just such a pivotal moment. Dubus, who had been driving on a Massachusetts highway, stopped to help a distressed car. While in the road, he was struck by an oncoming car, and his subsequent injuries led to the loss of one leg and his con- finement to a wheelchair.

He came to view the accident, in the words of scholar James E. Devlin, "as a transcendent experience that has allowed him to understand more deeply the nature of human suffering, forgiveness, and love."

Certainly Dubus's "philosophy" seemed to...