This book overflows with poignant moments. Pick one that was the saddest or most heartbreaking for you.
Created: 08/18/22
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There were many sad and disturbing instances in this book from Hubert's struggle for survival, all he worked for being stolen from him, him being beaten, and it goes on. One of the saddest moments for me occurred with Hubert's reaction to his seeing his son when he and the group were handing out leaflets. It seemed to bring up all of his pent up anger that festered within him. It shut him down and set him back. Very sad.
Join Date: 08/09/18
Posts: 41
The saddest moment for me was learning that Hubert’s daughter had died, and realizing the complicated web of lies he had constructed were all based around the original lie that she was still alive. I wanted him to accept support from his friends but seeing everything unravel put him too deeply into despair (and probably guilt about all the lies) to be ready to receive help.
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Hubert’s coming to the truth that his daughter had died and was never coming home brought me to tears. He had been so motivated to improve his connections to people before her visit home, and then discovering she would not be there to see how full his life had become—it was a sad surprise to me.
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I found the whole book poignant - deeply affecting my feelings. After the shock of learning that Rose had died, I felt a deep sadness. Hubert's inability to help David was also heartbreaking. Hubert and Joyce had just moved into their new home when Joyce opened an envelope left at their door thinking it was a welcoming card only to find a hateful, racist message. I could go on and on.
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The saddest was when Hubert admitted to Ashleigh that Rose had died five years earlier. It must have been almost impossible for him to verbalize that, because it must have comforted him to pretend that he and Rose had conversations. Now, he could no longer pretend and tell others that he had talked to her.
Join Date: 05/12/11
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There were so many sad moments in this book. The death of his wife and the loss of his son to drugs were sad. But the one that took me by complete surprise was the death of Rose. He had worked so hard at overcoming his loneliness and now had friends. Then the burglary knocked his foundation out from under him. He was forced to face up to his lies and completely withdrew as a result.
Join Date: 04/17/19
Posts: 35
I agree with the others that there are more sad moments than I can relate. All of the deaths and hardships have already been mentioned. I must say that the depth of the racism of that David and his wife face from her family set up the poignancy of the entire book.
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On page 276 the author beautifully describes what is is like to be sitting vigil at a loved one's deathbed when they finally choose to let go. I wanted to ask him if he had experienced this scene because it is so realistic. The waiting is endless and the end is so quiet and final.
"Thank you, Joyce Pierce,"he whispered. "Thank you. For everything."
And then the lonely grief begins.
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