Before I ended my conversation with Kristen Millares Young — journalist, essayist, and author of her debut novel “Subduction,” which was released in April — she wanted to tell me about the tardigrade, a microscopic animal whose picture she keeps on her desk.
“This creature has survived all five of our planetary extinctions; it can survive space, it can be dehydrated for 10 years, come back, and live,” Young said. “It is truly one of the most confounding and resilient little creatures on this planet.”