Memorial Days

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death and animal death.

Two days after Tony’s death, Bizu and Brooks returned to her home in Massachusetts, but Nathaniel’s plane was delayed due to weather. Neighbors brought them a warm meal. Brooks reviewed her messages, including one from the DC hospital. They called to get her consent to donate Tony’s organs, despite his driver’s license indicating that he wished to be an organ donor. Brooks later called the organ donation department to complain about the mishap, hoping that they wouldn’t repeat the mistake. Tony’s agent called to report that his book made the New York Times Best Seller list. Brooks was happy that his last book was a success, but she couldn’t help but think of it as “the book that killed Tony” (108).

Brooks reflects on her early days as a graduate student at Columbia and how she adapted to the fast-paced culture and strenuous workload. Her childhood in Australia was slower and more relaxed. Tony, by contrast, was raised to be a “high achiever,” which fueled his work ethic. Tony knew that there were dangers in not maintaining a healthy work-life balance and would try to make changes, but he always returned to his strenuous pace.