function longestChain(words) {
    let sortedWords = words.sort((a, b) => b.length - a.length);
    let wordSet = new Set(sortedWords);
    let longestChain = 0;

    function funcRecur(wordRecur, count) {

        // console.log('wordRecur: ', wordRecur, ' count: ', count);

        if (wordRecur.length <= 1) {
            // console.log('this is what gets returned: ', count);
            return count;
        };

        let shortened = '';
        let foundPath = false;
        for (let i = 0; i < wordRecur.length; i++) {
            shortened = wordRecur.slice(0, i) + wordRecur.slice(i + 1, wordRecur.length);

            if (wordSet.has(shortened)) {
                foundPath = true;
                return funcRecur(shortened, count + 1);
            }
        }

        if (!foundPath) {
            return count;
        }
    }


    let countForWord = 0;
    for (let word of sortedWords) {
        countForWord = funcRecur(word, 1);
        console.log(`${word}: `, countForWord);
        longestChain = countForWord > longestChain ? countForWord : longestChain;
    }

    return longestChain;
}