Memory and The Passing of Time

Woodrow Wilson Nickel is 105 years old when he finally realizes the importance of his story and decides to write it down so it can be passed on. He writes the entire story from a vivid memory, the most memorable time in his life. Structuring the narrative as a reflection on a long life highlights the inner experience of time’s passing and memory’s ability to lend meaning to a temporal existence. In the last pages of the book, Woody writes, “Time heals all wounds, they say. I’m here to tell you that time can wound you all on its own. In a long life, there is a singular moment when you know you’ve made more memories than any new ones you’ll ever make. That’s the moment that you’re truest stories—the ones that made you...