Departures by John L'Heureux Summary

Departures paints a picture of various important scenes in the life of a priest. In the first section, the priest is twenty-five, still in seminary, going home to visit his parents. He is intimidated by a "crazy" couple across the aisle from him. When he arrives home, he tells his mother not to touch him, though he kisses her on the cheek and shakes hands with his father, panicking his mother. In the second section, fifteen years have passed, the priest's father has died, and now his mother is dying. He is impatient for her to die, thinking he can't bear the suffering and the boredom. Her last words are to tell him not to worry, that she won't touch him. The third section returns to the young priest on the train, thinking about Sartre and meditation...