48 pages • 1 hour read
Alice McDermottA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
In April of 1963, Tricia is delighted to learn that she is pregnant. She stops visiting the hospital, making up a series of excuses to keep her pregnancy a secret. In early June, while getting ready to attend a dinner party, Tricia suffers a miscarriage. Worried about the stigma surrounding pregnancy loss, Tricia hides the embryo and retires to bed while Peter goes on to the party. Hours later, Peter returns with a drunk military doctor who dismisses Tricia’s concerns outright.
When Charlene arrives several hours later, Tricia tells her about the miscarriage. Charlene comforts her and distracts her with stories. Minh-Linh, the Kellys’ cook, brings Tricia a small stone figure that Charlene identifies as Dizang, a Buddhist deity responsible for watching over the spirits of miscarried and stillborn children. Together, they bury the embryo under the statue. Charlene divulges that she has also suffered a miscarriage in the past. Several weeks later, Tricia rejoins Charlene’s volunteer group.
Tricia recounts more about her relationship with Stella. Stella grew up in a large, rambunctious Irish Catholic family with six siblings. Tricia enjoyed spending time at Stella’s house, a contrast to the quiet home she shared with her father after her mother’s death.
By Alice McDermott
Asian American & Pacific Islander...
View Collection
Books that Feature the Theme of...
View Collection
Colonialism & Postcolonialism
View Collection
Friendship
View Collection
Guilt
View Collection
Memorial Day Reads
View Collection
Memory
View Collection
Military Reads
View Collection
Popular Book Club Picks
View Collection
Popular Study Guides
View Collection
The Best of "Best Book" Lists
View Collection
Vietnam War
View Collection
War
View Collection