Still Life with Bread Crumbs was written by Anna Quindlen. The story revolves around sixty-year old Rebecca Winters, who believes she has little left in life after the evaporation of her photography career. Divorced, Rebecca is the mother of a grown child named Ben. She also cares for her elderly parents. Strapped for cash, Rebecca rents her Manhattan apartment and travels to Squamash, a small mountain town in upstate New York. She takes possession of a ramshackle cottage there and meets a man named Jim Bates who oversees the repair of her roof. Rebecca begins going on hikes and discovers a series of white crosses and small objects, such as old photos and yearbooks. She begins to photograph the crosses and objects and signs with a new agent. Her work begins to sell again, restoring her finances. Rebecca later learns the crosses were put up by Jim’s mentally-challenged sister named Polly. Polly was putting to rest beautiful parts of her life in preparation for dying. Jim and Rebecca end up dating one another. Eventually, they movie in together.