@tinyroofnail This is great — thank you! I'm thinking my response to the inquirer will be a numbered list of "ways to think about this question" and point to your excerpts. I'm also thinking of my friend and former colleague Jon Adler and his research expertise in "narrative identity" in adulthood. It's a fascinating science: how we tell "contamination" or "redemption" narratives about the same events and choices, depending on how we are knitting together their significance or meaning over time. Thanks for prompting these thoughts all around.