Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas

by James Patterson

doctor friend told me the story of the five balls.

Imagine life is a game in which you are juggling five balls. The balls are called work, family, health, friends, and integrity. And you’re keeping all of them in the air. But one day you finally come to understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. The other four balls — family, health, friends, integrity—are made of glass. If you drop one of these, it will be irrevocably scuffed, nicked, perhaps even shattered. And once you truly understand the lesson of the five balls, you will have the beginnings of balance in your life.

My first patient list read like a who’s who of a William Carlos Williams poem.

I was experiencing a fantasy that was a million miles away when I lived in Boston.

I believe in angels now. Just looking at you, sweet baby boy, I would have to.

Hands to work, hearts to God.

if anyone ever over-heard my system, they’d never come to see Dr. Bedford. But they do come, Nicky, and I heal, and I am healing myself.

Good memories are like charms, Nicky. Each is special. You collect them, one by one, until one day you look back and discover they make a long, colorful bracelet.

burying a beloved dog,

Gus - Suzanne's dog

Life doesn’t go on forever. Enjoy every moment of it.