A Burden Shared Read online

  “This reminds me of the time when we got your diagnosis,” Penny said. “You were just a tiny baby. And you had this incurable disease that was going to give you pain forever. And your father and I were sure we could manage it. Delighted we lived now so that we could share the burden instead of being helpless and leaving you to suffer it alone.” They drove on, past the college, where Penny would not no longer teach out the school year. “What are you going to do, Ann?”

  “I’ll cope,” Ann said, stalwartly. “Dad will be there. And Lionel will do what he can. I’ll find a way to manage. Don’t worry about me, now, Mom. Think about yourself.”

  Penny looked out the car window, as helpless in the face of her daughter’s suffering as any parent had ever been.

  About the Author

  Jo Walton won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer on publication of her debut novel The King’s Peace. She won the World Fantasy Award in 2004 for Tooth and Claw, and in 2012, the Hugo and Nebula Awards for Among Others. In addition to writing SF and fantasy, she has also designed role-playing games and published poetry. Her song “The Lurkers Support Me In Email” has been quoted innumerable times in online discussions all over the world, frequently without attribution. A native of Wales, she lives in Montreal. You can sign up for email updates here.

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  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Notice

  Begin Reading

  About the Author

  Copyright

  Copyright © 2017 by Jo Walton

  Art copyright © 2017 by Richie Pope