The Lake Shore Limited: Sue Miller

That's what the play was about, she was thinking abruptly. The wish to imagine what life could be, how it could change, if you were unencumbered. Did everyone who was married do this from time to time, imagine an unencumbered life? Three years after the death of her younger brother Gus, Leslie still carries around with her the thought of what might have been: if Gus hadn't got on that plane on September 11th, if her husband understood the nature of her grief more, if she had made different choices in her life. As she sits down to watch a play written by Gus' former girlfriend Billy, she can't help but wonder if Billy too has been unable to let go of his memory. At the time Billy had seemed so stunned, so utterly at a loss for what to do. But now, watching the stage before her, Leslie soon realizes how disquietingly autobiographical The Lake Shore Limited is - and how little she really knows Billy. Meanwhile, the lead actor, Rafe, is struggling to cope with seeing his once strong, fiery wife succumb to the devastating effects of motor neuron disease. And then there is Sam, Leslie's divorced friend, who finds in the play inescapable echoes of his troubled life and starts to fall for Billy's distinctive, enigmatic beauty. These four characters, brought together by The Lake Shore Limited , all carry with them the weight of guilt, regret and longing that accumulates as the years go by. The Lake Shore Limited is a deeply felt, deeply human exploration of the intricate workings of relationships: the things we try to hold onto, and the things we desperately want to let go of.