Summary

The story opens in Jackson, Mississippi, with “947 Miles to Go.” Chapter 1 is titled “A Thing's Not a Thing until You Say It Out Loud.” The narrator introduces herself as Mary Iris Malone. She says, “I am not okay.”

Chapter 2 is titled “The Uncomfortable Nearness of Strangers.” The chapter opens with a letter to Isabel Malone, dated on the afternoon of September 1. Mary Iris Malone, nicknamed Mim, lived in Ashland, Ohio, until her parents, Barry and Eve, divorced. She now lives in Jackson, Mississippi, with her dad and stepmother, Barry and Kathy. Mim has been in minor trouble at school since the move. On this day, Mim is summoned to the principal's office. She hears Barry and Kathy talking to Principal Schwartz before she enters. Kathy says Eve will “beat this disease,” which is the first time Mim learns Eve is sick...