Summary

Personals – Ginny divorces her husband after discovering him having sex with one of her visiting friends. She then writes what she suggests her personal ad would look like, referencing her illness, her physical condition, and her volatile state. The author considers how Montaigne’s personal ad might look, referencing his discomfort with both his disease and its treatment. Later, Ginny and the author walk along a beach (as, the author says, Montaigne must have done) and collect beautiful sea shells.

Tumor Board – A family dinner, which the author’s mother is well enough to attend, is interrupted by a phone call to the author from Dr. Cavanaugh, saying that the tumor board (that is: the council of physicians that determine the course of treatment for cancer patients) has decided that the author’s condition would benefit from additional, harsher chemotherapy and...