This started with a bit of curiosity and a family tree that keeps growing more complicated — and more beautiful — the longer I study it.

Names and dates led to stories, contradictions, and gaps in the record. And in those gaps are the fun parts, the grimy parts, the interesting parts. I like seeing where the rabbit hole leads: through false starts, dead ends, and partial answers that come with working from real documents and imperfect memory.

At its core, Ghosts in the Branches is about slowing down and paying attention — listening long enough for the past to start sounding like real lives again.