“Good things happen slowly,” said a doctor in the ICU months ago, “and bad things happen fast.” Those were comforting words, and they comfort me today. Recovery is a long, slow process. There are good days and bad days for both of us. I try to find an even keel but still I am upset on the bad days and hopeful on the good. Uncertainty is the hardest part. There is no prognosis, no one can tell me how much better Rich will get and how long it might take. The day before my birthday Rich imagines that we’ve gone to Coney Island and he bought me a shell necklace. This is my present, as real for me as it was for him. He held my hand. That was yesterday, a good day, but filled with sadness. The season is changing, I take Harry to the park and watch the leaves turning and falling, there is beauty overhead and underfoot. There is something else I don’t know yet, something I’m straining to feel, as subtle as the change in humidity or temperature, or the shift in light as summer becomes fall, the most beautiful season, with its gift of beauty in loss, and the promise of something more to come.
About the Author
© Jennifer Waddell
ABIGAIL THOMAS is the mother of four children and the grandmother of twelve. She is the author of six previous books, including the memoir A Three Dog Life, which was named one of the best books of 2006 by the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post. She teaches writing and lives in Woodstock, New York.
MEET THE AUTHORS, WATCH VIDEOS AND MORE AT
SimonandSchuster.com
authors.simonandschuster.com/Abigail-Thomas
ALSO BY ABIGAIL THOMAS
Getting Over Tom
An Actual Life
Herb’s Pajamas
Safekeeping
A Three Dog Life
Thinking About Memoir
We hope you enjoyed reading this Scribner eBook.
* * *
Sign up for our newsletter and receive special offers, access to bonus content, and info on the latest new releases and other great eBooks from Scribner and Simon & Schuster.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP
or visit us online to sign up at
eBookNews.SimonandSchuster.com
SCRIBNER
A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com
Copyright © 2015 by Abigail Thomas
Jacket Design by Jaya Miceli
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Scribner Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.
First Scribner hardcover edition March 2015
SCRIBNER and design are registered trademarks of The Gale Group, Inc., used under license by Simon & Schuster, Inc., the publisher of this work.
For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or
[email protected] The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event, contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.
ISBN 978-1-4767-8505-9
ISBN 978-1-4767-8507-3 (ebook)
The author is grateful to the editors of the following magazines for publishing, usually in different form, pieces of this book: O, The Oprah Magazine; Tin House; Sonora Review; Open City; Drunken Boat; and The Ocean State Review.
Abigail Thomas, What Comes Next and How to Like It
Thank you for reading books on BookFrom.Net Share this book with friends