The Book of Two Ways

by Jodi Picoult

every story is a love story. Love of a person, a country, a way of life. Which means, of course, that all tragedies are about losing what you love.

We tend to forget that we were all young, once. And that there was a time when we had beginnings, instead of endings.

There are concentric circles of grief: the patient is at the center, the next layer is the caregiver, then their kids, then close friends, and so on. Figure out what circle you’re in. If you are looking into the concentric circles, you give comfort. If you’re looking out, you receive it.

I believe that there are five things we need to say to people we love before they die, and I give this advice to caregivers: I forgive you. Please forgive me. Thank you. I love you. Goodbye. I tell them that they can interpret those prompts any way they like, and nothing will have been left unsaid.