Summary

In Chapter 14, during his final days, the author’s father tried to talk her into quitting school and devoting her life to taking care of her brother and mother. She refused to do so. She told her father that if she dedicated her life to them that it would kill her. They both knew she was right; but, at the same time, she knew she had disappointed her father. Her father forgave her, just like he forgave her brother.

The author remembers trying to describe to a long-time friend how it felt as if she was losing her ability to think as a result of the emotional pain and stress of the divorce. Regardless, the friend accused her of wasting herself writing Duchess Goldblatt. She said Duchess was stupid, that the author should push herself to do something worthwhile. The author wrote down...