Becky’s Online Reading Group

Life As We Knew It
Day Three
Chapters 7-8

Chapter 7

Jonny is off to baseball camp.

Miranda goes to visit Sammi and Megan. She’s successful in finding Megan. Though what she finds scares her and shocks her more than a little. Megan’s doing what works for her, I suppose, but it’s a bit weird for the reader to accept I can imagine. I have a hard time feeling that the “right” decision would be to starve yourself with a big, wide grin on your face. But she at least is able to believe in something.

The food situation.

Mom decides–and Matt and Miranda support her decision–to cut everyone’s food consumption. Two meals a day. One day of fasting. I get hungry just thinking about it. The description of their meals. A can of this, a can of that, and if you’re lucky a bit of juice or a can of fruit for dessert.

Thinking ahead.

Matt has decided that he should spend his days–all of the sunlight hours–chopping wood. Chopping down the trees in the woods behind their house. The weather is still summer. But though not much has been said so far, Mom and Matt have a bad feeling about the coming winter months. About what will happen since there is no electricity and extremely limited natural gas for heating purposes.

Electricity is more off than on as the summer progresses. There is still the rare day when it is on for a few hours, but mostly it is off.

“I can’t decide which is worse, no electricity or unreliable electricity. I wonder if I’ll ever have to decide which is worse, life as we’re living or no life at all.” (119)

“Here’s the funny thing about the world coming to an end. Once it gets going, it doesn’t seem to stop.” (120)

July 10th Bad news. Volcanoes. Ash. Climate in chaos.

“Maybe we’ll be lucky. Maybe something good will happen that we can’t imagine just now. But we have to prepare for the worst. You and I and Matt and Jonny have to prepare for the worst. We have to assume frosts in August. We have to assume no power and no food coming in and no gas for the car and no oil for the furnace. Up till now we’ve been playacting survival, but from now on we have to take it seriously.” (123)

Chapter 8

Horton’s big escape. I do feel sorry that the cat got out. And I am glad that he finally finally showed up. It would have been awful if he’d been eaten.

More fighting. I think the fighting is understandable. Everyone is stressed. Everyone’s afraid. Nerves are always always on edge.

July 21rst. Miranda sees Sammi. She’s getting ready to leave town. She’s hooked up with a 40 year old man named George. A man who *loves* her so much that he’s been giving her and her family food and gas. He’s promised to provide for her and take her away from her family. Her family is happy to see her go. Happy to think that their daughter has a chance at life now. But you’ve got to admit that it’s not a pretty picture. Sixteen year olds being a hot commodity now. Essentially selling your body for food and shelter and protection.

July 22nd the cat is back and Mrs. Nesbitt comes over to tell stories about the Depression and World War II. Proof that hard times can be endured. That people survive what they must and do what they have to do.

“I feel so much better about things. After a day like today, I feel like we will make it through, that if we love each other and work hard enough, we’ll survive whatever might happen next.” (137)

Dad and Lisa come to visit and on their way they pick up Jonny from baseball camp. For the visit, the mom has decided to let them all eat three meals a day.

Dad brings ‘gifts’ most of the gifts are food. All of it is welcome. He helps Matt out with the wood situation–chopping down trees, making kindling, etc.

She does run into Dan. He says he’s leaving town. He wishes he’d had the courage to ask her out before all this happened. But things are too chaotic to think about love and romance.

The dinner party. Mom. Miranda. Matt. Jonny. Peter. Dad. Lisa. Mrs. Nesbitt. The dinner seems good, but the after dinner talk turns pessimistic. Lisa can’t handle it. Can you blame her? Imagine being pregnant at a time like this. Imagine knowing that you very well might not have enough food to nourish yourself and the baby. To know that the world you’re baby is being born into is falling apart, that humanity may not survive, that the baby’s chance of survival is so slim. Scary. Scary. Scary. Jonny has his first glimpse of what the future may hold as well. He is for the first time, I believe, realizing that he may not survive, that his family might not survive, that humanity may not survive. That the future is one big question mark. No one knows the answer to the big questions. The only ones that seem to be adapting well are the mosquitoes.

The big goodbye. Lisa and Dad prepare to leave and say their goodbyes. It’s very emotional. Imagine saying goodbye knowing that you may never see each other again, that this could be the last time you see each other. Anyway it’s a big deal to everyone.