"The nurse started to explain herself. Mom cut her off, saying, “Except I don’t believe in any of that.” “You don’t believe in what?” “The afterlife. Heaven and such.” The nurse had to breathe before saying, “But in times like this, darling? When everything is so awful, how can you not believe in the hereafter?” “Well, let me tell you something,” Mom said. Then she leaned forward her chair, her voice moving. “Long ago, when my husband was dying for no good reason, I realized that if a fancy god was in charge, then he was doing a pretty miserable job of running his corner of the universe.”"