“Working to Stay Sane,” by John C. O’Neal, professor of French emeritus, appears in A Year in Ink, volume 13 (pp. 123-27). The annual anthology is published by San Diego Writers, Ink.
The story focuses on an exchange O’Neal has with his daughter one day, in which he attempts as best he can to validate her sense of self-worth, assuring her that she does real work each and every day by addressing the myriad challenges of this devastating disease.
O’Neal read his story in a virtual event featuring A Year in Ink, volume 13, contributors. The event is posted to the San Diego Writers, Ink, Facebook page in two parts. O’Neal’s reading is at 36:20 of part one.