Self-Help (short story collection)

As the affair continues, Charlene decides to confront Jack about how she lacks emotional support and comfort because he isn't with her enough.

Even though her mother has been through a lot, she is trying to show her daughter that she still had a good life and enjoyed all the beautiful parts of it.

Cuddling next to each other, the two converse casually until they are interrupted by a minor incident in which the daughter chokes on a piece of popcorn.

After a while, the daughter expresses her disgust with the movie, the mother suggests switching to Channel 7, where a rock concert is showing.

The daughter responds, "they went all right,"[2] but specifically leaves out details of alcohol and the fact that her father is with a new woman.

After dating her boyfriend for a while, she begins to grow bored of him and contemplates the good and bad aspects of the relationship.

Another long term affair ensues; she sneaks around and lies to her boyfriend about what she is doing even though he knows the truth.

In “Amahal and the Night Visitors: A Guide to the Tenor of Love,” Lorrie Moore writes about a breakup between the main character, Trudy, and her boyfriend, Moss.

The second person narrative follows a determined girl named Francie and her constant struggle with wanting to have a career in writing.

The story ends with Francie finding tedious things to do to pass time because she has altogether failed and has severed nearly all personal connections.

[3] Riva, a depressed retail manager, visits the hospital where her mother receives treatment for mental illness.

The story ends with Riva in the same hospital as her mom, thinking about her life and the possibility of seeing her son again.