Book description
When Abigail Thomas's husband, Richard, was hit by a car, it destroyed
his short-term memory and consigned him to permanent brain trauma. He
had been taking their dog, Harry, out for a walk, and Harry had come
home alone. Subject to rages, terrors, and hallucinations, Rich must
live the rest of his life in an institution. He has no memory of what he
did the hour, the day, the year before. This tragedy is the ground on
which Abigail had to build a new life rather than abandon her husband.
How she built that life is a story of great courage and great change, of
moving to a small country town, of a new family composed of three dogs,
knitting and friendship, of facing down guilt and discovering gratitude.
It is also about her relationship with Rich, a man who lives in the
eternal present, and the eerie poetry of his often uncanny perceptions.
This wise, plain-spoken, beautiful book enacts the truth Abigail
discovered in the five years since the accident: You might not find
meaning in disaster, but you might, with effort, make something useful
of it.
Forced to adapt to a life alone, Abigail finds solace at home,
discovering that friends, family and dogs (Carolina, Harry and Rosie)
can reshape a life of chaos into one that, while wrenchingly sad, makes
sense - a life full of its own richness and beauty. Abigail Thomas is
the author of a memoir, SAFEKEEPING, as well as a novel and two story
collections
