Great Gott is one of 285 islands off the coast of Maine that have lost their year round communities, and the island exists today as a beautiful seasonal home for a couple of dozen summer families.

Friends there live in the childhood home of the late acclaimed writer, Ruth Moore, a home they have so thoughtfully respected that it is brimming with memories of and glimpses into the past.

It was in Miss Moore’s former bedroom that I came upon her washbasin and pitcher, a truly electric moment. There, on the old nightstand, was this venerable monument overflowing with the mysteries of years and lives ago. 

As I drew closer, I saw the crack and in that silent, stuffy, hot room the flaw spoke to the fragility of the worlds we build around ourselves, of the lives and the qualities that flicker out so quickly when the tide inevitably runs the “other” way.

The crack specifically spoke to me of the tragic loss of their son, a stunning reminder of how truly fragile this world – and we - are.