Both Now and Forever Summary and Analysis

"The End of the World as We Know It" is a novel about a man's broken life and his eventual search for healing. Robert Goolrick, the author, was sexually molested as a young boy by his father and the novel follows Goolrick's life, both before and after the abuse, to understand the true reasons for Goolrick's misery throughout his existence. The story is painful, sincere, and illuminating, but does shine a harsh light on growing up in America in the 1940s and 1950s.

"Both Now and Forever", Part I, begins with Goolrick's assertion that both his parents passed away from alcoholism and that he himself is also an alcoholic. Both parents were cremated and Father was buried near Mother, in the back yard of the house they lived in much of their lives. The house...