I found this marvellous book at Ariel’s Bookstore in Paddington. There was no earthly way it was being left on the shelf.
Let’s start at the very beginning.
1. What can happen in a second?
A life can be taken in a second, or spared. I know of a child who pushed a sibling to safety in a split second, thus saving his life from a speeding car about to make contact. I know a girl who was thrown off a building and went soaring through the air within a second. A moment’s lapse of concentration, a thoughtless word, birth and death… We look for grand gestures and symphonies as harbinger’s of change. We expect earth-shattering changes to occur over a day or week, and to hear the trumpeting of angels overhead. The truth is that it happens within a second. “I’m leaving.” “Will you marry me?” The birth of babies and the final gasp of the dying. To be attuned to the subtle nuances of people and events taking place is to be aware of the shifting of light. It all falls into shadows, then the light appears come morning. Fog lifts, rain ceases. A second is a valuable marker. Use it wisely.