It’s the season of light. Of peace. Of joy. But in the face of Friday’s heartbreaking tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, an essay by Emma Woolf, daughter of Cecil Woolf and Jean Moorcroft Wilson, seems specially poignant.

Titled “An Apple a Day: A Special Anniversary,” the piece was published in The Times on Nov. 20. It tells the story of the goodbyes she has said to loved ones who have passed on. And it ends with a quote from Virginia Woolf: “Someone has to die in order that the rest of us should value life more.”

But before it ends, Emma shares this wisdom: “[L]ife is precious. Now more than ever is a time for new beginnings.”

Amen.