Note from Preet: The Abnormal Return to Normalcy

Dear Reader,

I’ve never kept a diary or a journal. There are times I wish I had, as when I was writing my book. Details of conversations and feelings, recorded in real time, might have enriched the narratives of cases and decision-making I describe. A bit more verisimilitude I would have liked. We have a tendency to forget, especially, how fearful, uncertain, or worried we were as events unfolded.

It occurs to me, though, that I do have a journal of sorts. It’s these notes. They are, to be sure, intermittent and public, but from time to time I set down personal thoughts about my reaction to the world around me. And looking back on those reflections months or years later is illuminating.