What Are You Going Through

 What Are You Going Through by Sigrid Nunez (2020) 210 pages

The topic is death. The subtext is life and relationships. Never once do we hear a character's name. Conversations are communicated without quotation marks, but nonetheless are conveyed so well. 

The narrator is a writer who says you can usually find a story that's worth relating in the lives of people you meet, if you are willing to sit and listen. She has listened to many people and shares their stories, giving a window into their lives.

When an old college friend, around age 60, learns that her cancer treatments are not successful, she asks the narrator to be with her at the time she decides to end her life: "Cancer can't get me if I get me first."  We learn much about the narrator and her dying friend, who has somewhat of a gallows humor. The women find themselves growing much closer as they spend time together, almost reading each other's minds at times. Loved this book.