Summary

In the first half of the section “Unsettled,” Russo describes helping his mother prepare for her fourth move since living in Maine. He realized he might have been wrong in hoping for a spell of mania so bad it would break her spirit. She had been listless since her last spell. Despite her lack of energy, she told him she wished that he would take the book Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner back with him. He had loaned her the book but she had not liked it. He tried to provide her with books to take her mind off her physical ailments, including arthritis and frequent mini-strokes. She put the books that he brought her that she considered trash in Ziploc bags to return to him.

Russo described his mother’s collection of books a library since each book made a statement...