I was on the verge of preparing for a midlife crisis when a bear unexpectedly arrived in my rather dismal life. I had never had a bear before. He was called Plush, he called me Persey, and mysteriously things began to change. This is a true story. All the bears and other characters still live with me, and the events described all happened in one way or another. Some of the place names have been changed a little because they both are, and are not, the real places.