From that period of confinement emerged two chapters — The Briefing and Recipes for Disaster. For nearly a year, daily life narrowed to a dual focus: the relentless theater of politics and the intimate rituals of the kitchen. Public anxiety and sustenance became the framework of each day.

In early 2021, Lynn and I set out on a cross-country journey, leaving the confines of home to survey a nation visibly strained by political division while also seeking the restorative vastness of the American West. These travels gave rise to the third chapter, Continental Divide. The project continued to unfold during a second cross-country expedition in 2022, extending both its geographic and conceptual scope.