X Summary and Analysis

This chapter is a series of interviews with terminally ill patients. Mrs. S., a 49-year old cancer patient, reveals she has suffered a number of losses in her life, including the death of a young child, the death of a family doctor, and desertion by her parents and a spouse. She lives her life for her two sons, and needs to share her concerns with someone willing to listen. Her neighbor has become like a sister to her and has helped her with her children and her illness. The opportunity to talk about her past and her illness seems to help her tremendously.

A 17-year old is told of the seriousness of her condition not by her doctors, but by her parents. Her faith that her fate is in God's hands is what sustains her, and she senses a closer relationship...