Our So-Called Safe and Perfect Bodies

Cyanide poisoning. That was the oft-repeated cause of death for Rufus B. Keeler, celebrated ceramist and Cati Porter's great-grandfather. He was just 49. His son Brad, himself a noted ceramist, died at 39. Their deaths sent shockwaves through her family, indirectly leading to her mother's dropping out of middle school and teen-aged marriage. Decades later, she found herself asking questions no one else would. Her search for answers would take her up and down the California coast, tracing th...