In the summer of 2007, I went to Colombia to figure out my MFA thesis. I was working on a master’s in nonfiction writing, and after workshopping a series of essays on my childhood and undergraduate days, I got inspired to write a book about why people move. I’d always wondered what motivated a family to pack up what few belongings they could carry and find a new home. My family tree was colored by three major moves, and I thought this could serve as a structural backbone for a family memoir.