Today is the 45th anniversary of writer Nella Larsen's death. I don't know how much I believe in a life after a life, but if she's somewhere around I just want to thank her--for being brave enough to write the story of her complexity--being both black and Danish--almost 80 years ago! She made my book possible. It's my letter to her in a way. And my way of saying thanks. (This is a photo of the headstone I had installed on her grave two years ago. It had never been marked.)