[citation needed] In 2009, it was included in the collection Too Much Happiness, published by Douglas Gibson Books.
"Free Radicals" is the story of a recently widowed woman named Nita.
She had been diagnosed with cancer a year before, and they were expecting her to die before him, especially because Rich had just been given a good bill of health the week before his death.
After Nita told the man her story, he became upset and wanted to leave.
The next morning Nita was awakened by a police officer who told her that the man who had taken the car was in an accident and killed instantly.
Analyzing the story of "Free Radicals," there is a connection between reality and the world Alice Munro creates.
Cindy Daniel's article, she explores the works of Munro and how they blend reality with fiction.
She states, "Munro uses this technique with deliberate force to explore the worlds she creates more completely.
She says that "the intricate structure of the story restores the balance so that the reader is relieved to learn that the central character is really Nita" (Demers 20).
Ulrica Skagert's dissertation puts forth an argument that the smallest event in one's life can change the very outcome of one's being and sometimes alter one's destiny.