On Oct. 7, I was sitting on my friend’s roof, waiting to start our book club, when a push alert about violence in Israel flashed across my phone screen. I was, that Saturday, on a self-prescribed news fast. Earlier that week, Congress (and my job) had been transformed by the historic ouster of Bakersfield’s Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House. His removal thrust the chamber (and my personal calendar) into chaos because no one knew who would replace him. But Hamas’ attack, and Israel’s deadly counterattacks on the Gaza Strip, was so dramatic, I ended my self-imposed exile to...