For my father, Alton Johnson, who taught me to think, ask good questions, and stick to my guns, especially about solving problems and creating a better world. He was even proud of me when I out-argued him.

When I was four, my father, was twenty-nine. He had already taught me well by then. “If religion and science have different opinions about things, who is right?” I asked.

“Joan,” he replied, “this is the universe. ‘Uni’ means one. ‘Verse’ means word. This is the one word. It was created whole and complete, with no extra pieces and nothing left out. If religion and science have different opinions, it is only because we humans don’t know enough yet. When we know all there is to know, there will be no conflicts. Keep learning.”

Even when I didn’t remember his counsel consciously, my cells and soul remembered.

.