Katie Arnold-Ratliff Knihy

For more than a decade Arnold chased adventure around the world, reporting on extreme athletes who performed outlandish feats, until life on the thin edge of risk began to seem normal. She vowed to raise her daughters to be adventurous, too, but when her father died of cancer, she was forced to confront her own mortality. Nearly paralyzed by fear and terrified she was dying, too, she turned to the thing that had always made her feel most alive: running. She ran to heal her grief, to find strength in her weakness... she ran to live. -- adapted from jacket

The story explores Francis Mason's tumultuous journey as he grapples with impending fatherhood, a disappointing teaching career, and unresolved grief from a past relationship. The discovery of a dead body by his second-grade class during a field trip triggers a spiral into paranoia and erratic behavior, straining his relationships with the school principal and parents. As he confronts his recurring urge to escape, Francis must face the deep-seated flaws that have haunted him and come to terms with his painful past.