Monday, 5 a.m.

That would be 4 a.m. back home in Chicago. The alarm rang. I ignored it. Then a guest-relations associate of the CNN Omni Hotel called, gently reminding me that this was my wake-up call. This also gently reminded me that there was no lover next to me to make sure I got up, to maybe make the coffee and bring it to me.

Julianne Hill is a born-and-bred Clevelander who married into a Georgia family. Her essay is a deep and beautiful account of how the pines and rivers of Georgia helped her put things back in place as the family’s heart was broken — and then broken again.

Client: BitterSoutherner.com

Date: June 18, 2015