In “The Enchanted April,” by Elizabeth von Arnim, four Englishwomen are transformed by a temporary loss of self.

I’ve just got to find her.”’ The next morning, Julie travelled into London and met with Jenny’s boyfriend James, who had found out that survivors had been taken to the Royal Hospital London.

Aseries of haphazard walking errands led to me wandering downtown, lugging a tub of CBD gummies, a multipack of ultra-absorbent tampons and a 10 lb biography of Sylvia Plath. That seemed correct, a ...