A Place to Begin

Pamela Belyea didn’t set out to build a library so much as she set out looking for one.After her 23-year-old son, Ben, died by suicide in January 2020, the Seattle architect and Gage Academy of Art cofounder started doing what many newly bereaved people do: search for answers. Therapy helped, even though it was eye-wateringly expensive. Gardening helped, too. As did journaling—nine notebooks worth, written every morning before she got out of bed.But again and again, Belyea found her