In responding to
But anyway: before that, my characters have always had someone to turn to. They may not have wanted to, they may have fought, they may not have thought they could ask for help, and the other people may not have been able to give it, but there has always been someone to be there. And that, to me, is not a fantastical element. That's not wish fulfillment, at least not of the unrealistic kind. That's the world I live in. There is someone there for me. Multiple someones. It wasn't always like that, but it is now, and it's possible, and it's good. And going the other way with this book (these books, dammit! Stupid books!) is a little alien to me.