In fact, this book is about people being afraid to live, being afraid to fight, being afraid to speak up, being afraid to be like their mothers, being afraid to fall off a horse, being afraid to admit the obvious, being afraid to break up with a drug addict, being afraid to suffer, being afraid to get into an accident, being afraid to put a comma in the wrong place, being afraid to be sensitive, being afraid of tenants, being afraid of jellyfish, being afraid to sing in the street to passersby and not pay for the fare, being afraid to breathe, being afraid to be late, being afraid to come early, being afraid to leave a bad play in the middle of a performance, being afraid to make a mistake, being afraid to point out a mistake, being afraid to believe, being afraid of critics and commentators, being afraid to go to parent-teacher conferences, being afraid to defend your boundaries, being afraid not to be afraid