Chapter 1
The Blast Zone
All of a sudden your friend’s breathing changes into ragged gasps. You turn
toward her and see her eyes wide with terror. “Are you okay?” you ask, feel-
ing your own heart begin to race.
“I’ve got to get out of here now!” she chokes out, and you start plot-
ting a route to the nearest exit, hoping she can make it that far.
*
“I need to talk to you,” a coworker says as she pulls your office door shut.
Her tears burst forth even before she sits down. You hand her a Kleenex
and wait while she pulls herself together enough to speak. A minute seems
like a year when you’re watching another person suffer.
“I’m a terrible person,” she says finally. “I never manage to do any-
thing right.”
*
3
Copyright 2003 by Albert J. Bernstein. Click Here for Terms of Use.