The story had been growing in my head over the past year, until it felt so huge I had to get it out. I remember the precise moment I decided to write it down. It was just after New Years 2000, and I was in the car with my sister in god-awful Southern California traffic. I'd looked forward to the 1999-2000 New Year for most of my life. And what an awful New Year it turned out to be! Just totally crappy. (Well, almost totally. There were a few redeeming moments.)

I was sitting in the sunny car h...