I look around and consider this day of mine, this year, these two years in fact, without your mother and I feel tired and, if I’m honest, afraid.
-- Narrator (Chapter 1)

Importance: Maurice admits that the last two years that he has been trying to live without Sadie, his wife, has left him tired and fearful. Even though Maurice does not give all the details of his plan right away, the reader can insinuate that Maurice intends to end his life.

Ready now to begin the first of five toasts: five toasts, five people, five memories. I push my empty bottle back across the bar to her.
-- Narrator (Chapter 1)

Importance: One of the last acts of Maurice’s life is to offer toasts to the five most significant people in his life. These people are Tony (his brother), Molly (his stillborn daughter), Noreen, (his sister-in-law), Kevin (his son), and Sadie (his wife).

If I’d known...
-- Narrator (Chapter 2)