ASA journal editors have great power. They decide whose work will be distributed to the membership in the Association’s journals. They can enforce silence or welcome thought. I am deeply honored to have been offered such a trust, and I hope I have fulfilled my obligations to your expectations. My four years as editor of Issue has been deeply satisfying. I have had the pleasure of working with many of you, and I have been privileged to read some of the very best work in African Studies.

I was offered the position of editor of Issue one year after my diagnosis of breast cancer, and I thought it was a great chance to make a contribution to African Studies. If I might have been tempted to ignore the body as it serves the mind, this wake-up call offered me new understanding of the corporeal sources of my thoughts. To reconcile the spirit with the body is insight. Our bodies are our homes. They create, sustain, and challenge our work.