Chapter 9 Summary

Chapter 9, Illness and Decline, relates the weeks following Daisy's heart attack and susequent kidney failure, as well as what has been happening for the past few years. None of Daisy's children are able to visit her during the period directly after her heart attack, but after a month, Alice is at her mother's bedside, talking to her and taking care of financial matters, as Daisy is moved from the hospital into a convalescent home. Daisy's son, Warren, is living in New York with a new wife and their children. Joan is busy in Oregon with her husband and children, as is Victoria, who is married to Lewis Roy and has a set of twins.

Daisy is visited frequently by a young minister named Reverend Rick, although Daisy has never been truly religious in her life. Among Daisy's other visitors is the group of...