The Sequel (The Book Series, #2)

by Jean Hanff Korelitz

He knew nothing could be proven against him, but he also knew that no one waits for proof before making up their mind, not with everyone schadenfreude-ing away online.

Maybe somewhere in a flyover state that people like her late husband hadn’t yet colonized. Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Lawrence, Kansas. Red Wing, Minnesota. They were out there, towns or small cities she might live in comfortably, and perhaps even—if she felt like it—continue the “work” her editor was evidently hoping for. But also: be left alone.

Really, she had never been a person who imposed herself on the lives of others. Anything she had ever felt, everything she had ever done, was in response to some unprompted aggression against herself, and how much better the world would be if everyone could show some fraction of her own restraint when it came to other people. Live your life, leave everyone else alone, and stick to your own story … that was the key to personal and communal happiness, wasn’t it?