A Ford in the River

In late December 2008, after this book was initially scheduled for publication, author Charles Rose suffered a stroke and spent a long time recovering. That simple fact is an irony worthy of one of Rose's stories, considering that a few years ago he published In the Midst of A Hospice Volunteer's Story , a critically acclaimed memoir of a sabbatical year that he spent visiting, reading to, and providing comfort to dying men and women. A lifelong reader and writer and piano player, Rose was unable to read or write or play in the early stages of his recovery. Gradually, his awareness returned, first of music and then of words, and he was able to complete this collection of elegant, keenly observed stories that reward readers from the first sentence to the last. Twice in the past few years, he went to the precipice and looked over. Now, he is back, and readers have this jewel of a story collection as a souvenir of his journey.