1985 January-June Summary

The new year begins with the nurses dressing all the patients in their fancy clothes, and Ernaux dryly notes that there are no real parties to look forward to anymore, that everything the patients do is reminiscent of the past. She recognizes that she talks about her mother in the past tense. Ernaux dreams of similarities between her and her mother; she feels that they are one and the same. On a shopping trip, she sees a woman talking to herself and remembers how her mother looked at her before she fell ill. Annie feels guilty for what has happened to her mother.

Ernaux associates days in her own life with the days in the life of her mother. The first day she finds her mother tied to the chair by the staff, Annie notes that it's the anniversary of the first day...