The following is a work of nonfiction. All events are true as I remember them, though I am unapologetically prone to indiscriminate hyperbole, and some dialogue is approximated due to the passage of time. Most names and many identifying details have been changed, and some individuals are composites to further protect their identities.
A small number of scenes in the chapters “Schriftverkehr,” “Ereignis,” and “Schadenfreude” have appeared in a different form in Slate and on my personal website.
All translations from the German are my own.