Chapters 1 through 4 Summary and Analysis

Chapter One

Monday, August 2, 2004

Just before her 37th birthday, Kelly Corrigan found a suspicious lump in her breast. Her husband, Edward, was away on a business trip. When she discovered the lump, she was bathing with her two children Georgia, three, and Claire, one. She panicked and called a close friend, Emily Birenbaum, who was a physician. Emily lived nearby and told Kelly to come right over. After checking the lump, Emily told Kelly that it was a bad sign because it was so hard but since Kelly was young, it probably was just a cyst. Emily promised to schedule a mammogram for Kelly in the next few days. When Edward called that night, Kelly told him about the lump. He was optimistic that it was just a cyst.

Chapter Two

Kelly grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia...