Summary

“Penultimate” is the name of Part IV, which opens with "Preamble: The Fire on New Year’s Eve.”

Here, Martin describes his 2016 New Year’s Eve experience of finding his house at 22 Strong Place on fire. In order to stop the fire from spreading to the neighboring houses, the firemen needed to release all the water from the gigaton of water that was on the top floor, flooding the building as a result. Nothing was saved. Martin states he refuses to view the fire as the beginning of the closing act of his life, viewing it, instead, as providing a “happy ending” (353). He reaches this understanding because, shortly afterwards, his daughter Inez, who had been very short for her age and had been told by the doctors she would never be over five feet, has a growth spurt.

In “Chapter One: Christopher: Everyone...