This fear was unbearable. It unwrapped who she was, as neatly as he'd unwound her bandage, leaving too much pain and ugliness exposed. Nerve endings; he'd said they were the problem [causing phantom pain in the amputated limb]." Things that cut off, that ended abruptly or died—like parents and marriages—kept hurting forever.

Home Front: A Novel (ed. Macmillan, 2012) - ISBN: 9781429942218