Between Two Kingdoms

Home, for Suleika, has been spread over several continents. Since she was diagnosed with leukemia, she and Will have been more stationary. When they finish a three-month stay at Hope Lodge, they move to her mother’s East Village apartment, recently vacated by its long-term renters. She feels elated by the freedom to have an independent living space. She and Will feel closer, and they share a bed for the first time since she began her transplant (143).

Suleika begins maintenance chemotherapy. She knows the medical system now and goes to these appointments on her own, another milestone in her treatment. She notices that those who are newly diagnosed sit with family or a supportive person in the waiting room. If the patient is sick for a year or two, they often come alone. She meets another solo patient, Bret. Their conversation grounds Suleika (147). When she goes in for her chemotherapy, a nurse says her eyes are red and asks her if she’s all right. Suleika begins to cry without fully knowing why.

Suleika thought she would grow up to be “the Mother Teresa of strays” (148). The animal shelter dogs remind her of herself, “outsiders, searching for a home” (149).