Joe Henry was the glue that held his family together. Now, he is dead, and his wife and sons are coming together for one final journey to scatter his ashes. First, however, his loved ones have some things to work out.David, the older son, believes that any minute his life is going to fall apart and everyone he loves will leave him. His brother, Scott, can’t shake the belief that at heart, people are inherently rotten. Doris, their mother, just doesn’t believe in anything anymore.Wickedly funny & biting, it is an essential exploration of modern American grief, family violence, & redemption.
Joe Henry was the glue that held his family together. Now, he is dead, and his wife and sons are coming together for one final journey to scatter his ashes. First, however, his loved ones have some things to work out.David, the older son, believes that any minute his life is going to fall apart and everyone he loves will leave him. His brother, Scott, can’t shake the belief that at heart, people are inherently rotten. Doris, their mother, just doesn’t believe in anything anymore.Wickedly funny & biting, it is an essential exploration of modern American grief, family violence, & redemption.
Scott Henry rides the subway. He is wearing a black suit and carrying a shovel. A soldier going to war, a Navy SEAL on a rescue mission. People look at him with disinterest. A man in a suit carrying heavy tools is hardly the weirdest thing they’ve seen today. He has a black messenger bag across his back, slung over his shoulders. There is a pair of wire cutters inside, a set of work gloves. It is ten o’clock in the morning. He has two hours before the memorial. Two hours to penetrate the perimeter fence, to enter his old backyard, find the spot and dig.