stephireads 's review for:

Indulgence by Susan Perabo

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Seriously one of the best short stories I've read. This story has stuck with me for a long time since I've read it -both because I love my mom with all my heart and because of the ending. I was reading a textbook that referenced it in terms of "surprise endings" that actually work and it's honestly some of the best writing. I'm word vomiting right now and I've had a bit too much coffee today, but I think about this story all the time. There's so much to it -the simplicity of watching OJ as a teen at home and smoking cigarettes with your mother that goes hand-in-hand with her allowing her daughter to stay home after the doctor's orders were to be sent back to school. The mother/daughter bond that goes beyond virtue and being "right" and allows the heart to heal when the bones are out of the cast.
"Indulge" has become my new favorite word.