Summary

Chapter Three of “December” is titled “Epiphany.” In the first part of this chapter, author May focuses on the experiences of her son, Bert – specifically, his increasing unhappiness at being in school, with its high demands of achievement and its playground terrors. She describes being aware of his unhappiness but not really doing anything about it until his unhappiness became too vivid and too intense to ignore. “Some winters are gradual,” she says. “Some winters creep up on us so slowly that they have infiltrated every part of our lives before we truly feel them” (118). She then describes how they got through this period of “wintering” together. “We didn’t so much retreat from the world as let it recede from us” (120). She talks with other parents about their experiences, and feels significant relief that she and her son no longer feel...