The author, an alumnus of Brandeis University, tells of his meetings with a former professor suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease and of the lessons he learned about life and death from his college mentor.

It's summer in rural Maine. When 17-year-old Darcy Prentiss isn't raking berries with her sister during the day, she's drinking and swimming with the boys in the quarry at night. But the fun is what's been keeping Darcy's mind off the disturbing secret she shares with Nell, the disappearance of her ex-best friend, and that hazy Fourth of July party that ended with Darcy drunk, flat on her back, and wondering how she let it get this far. Everything...