The following version of this short story was used to create the guide: Silber, Joan. "Freedom from Want." The Best Short Stories 2021: The O. Henry Prize Winners. Vintage Anchor Publishing, 2021.

Joan Silber's short story "Freedom from Want," is written from the main character Rachel’s first person point of view. The narrative employs a largely linear structure and the past tense. The short story is set in New York City during the Trump era.

Rachel struggled to process her brother Saul's diagnosis with liver cancer. Then, not long after Saul's diagnosis, he told Rachel that Kirk, his boyfriend of 20 years, was leaving him. Rachel could not believe she had ever liked or trusted Kirk. She saw his abandonment as a betrayal of Saul and herself.

Rachel was 59 and lived in a small apartment in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City. She lived with her ex Nick's daughter Nadia. Though the arrangement was unconventional, it worked. She and Nadia had a close connection. In the wake of Saul's diagnosis and breakup, she worried he would want to live with her.

Shortly before Saul got sick, Rachel started talking to her other ex, Bud, again. Bud had moved out of the city years prior and was now working for an NGO in Cambodia. Initially they corresponded only via email. Then Bud suggested that they talk to each other over Skype. During one conversation, Bud invited Rachel to come visit him in Phnom Penh. Rachel responded affirmatively because she did not think he was serious.

Though Saul and Kirk were not together anymore, they continued living together. Kirk owned their apartment. Saul had worked at the library for many years and therefore did not have a lot of money. Rachel thought it would be impossible for him to find a comfortable place to live.

One night Rachel discovered Nadia praying for Saul. She wondered about her brother's former Buddhist faith. When she asked him about it, she realized that Saul wanted nothing. His lack of desire worried rather than comforted her. If he did not have the desire to live, she might lose him sooner than expected.

Saul told Rachel that he would be moving into a studio apartment in his building. Kirk was helping with the deposit. Rachel, Kirk, Nadia, and Kirk's new boyfriend, Ethan, helped Saul move. The new apartment unnerved Rachel. It was small and bright, and seemed too isolating for Saul.

A few weeks later, Saul talked to Rachel about his will and told her that he would no longer be seeing his doctors. These things worried Rachel and made her upset. Not long later, Kirk told her that he had asked Saul to move back in with him, but that Saul had refused.

Meanwhile, Rachel continued talking to Bud. He had stopped inviting her to Cambodia. She assumed he was seeing someone else. Nevertheless, Rachel felt excited every time they talked. She soon realized that Bud had become her one and only desire.

Five weeks later, Saul moved back in with Kirk. Rachel and Nadia spent a pleasant evening with Saul, Kirk, and Ethan. In the elevator afterwards, Rachel realized that they had all shown Nadia a new and different version of love. Rachel was glad they had been able to give this to Nadia.