I originally picked up An Arsonist’s Guide to Writers’ Homes in New England because its author, Brock Clarke, is teaching one of the classes I will take in the fall. What I found within was a compelling story about discovering the bonds which hold your relationships together. The unwitting hero of the novel, Sam Pulsifer, is a self-described bumbler. He bumbles through life and bumbles everything up. His story tells you that you should give up, that you can never go back home, and that a real person’s life will never work out like the life of a storybook character. But it also tells you that even when things can never be right and bad decisions cannot be undone, you can continue to bumble through. Life will not be the same, but neither will you.