I looked forward to being Uncle Joe. I would buy my nephew a dog and teach him how to bluff at poker. I’d read “The Lorax” to my niece and introduce her to jazz. Then my big brother became a priest. To devote himself to God? Or to deprive me?

Ann S. Epstein writes novels, stories, memoir, poems, and essays. Her novels are On the Shore, Tazia and Gemma, A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve., The Great Stork Derby, One Person’s Loss, and The Sister Knot (in press). Her other work appears in North American Review, Sewanee Review, PRISM International, Ascent, The Long Story, and elsewhere. She also has a PhD in developmental psychology, MFA in fiber art, and certification as an end-of-life doula. Her website is asewovenwords.com.