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Back The Favorite Daughter Save as PDF
Chapters (57)
  1. Cover
  2. Back Cover Text
  3. Booklist
  4. Dedication
  5. Quote
  6. SUNDAY
  7. 1
  8. 2
  9. MONDAY
  10. 3
  11. 4
  12. 5
  13. 6
  14. 7
  15. TUESDAY
  16. 8
  17. 9
  18. 10
  19. 11
  20. 12
  21. 13
  22. 14
  23. 15
  24. WEDNESDAY
  25. 16
  26. 17
  27. 18
  28. 19
  29. 20
  30. 21
  31. 22
  32. 23
  33. 24
  34. 25
  35. 26
  36. 27
  37. 28
  38. 29
  39. 30
  40. 31
  41. 32
  42. 33
  43. 34
  44. THURSDAY
  45. 35
  46. 36
  47. 37
  48. 38
  49. 39
  50. 40
  51. 41
  52. 42
  53. EPILOGUE
  54. DEAR READER LETTER
  55. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  56. READERS GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
  57. Best Day Ever

It’s never been that satisfying to kick things, or punch walls. I used to do that when I was younger and broke too many toes and my hand a couple of times. I still enjoy throwing things—like plates or small bookends—at people when I’m angry, but neither of them were home then, nor are they now. My heart pounds.

Living well is the best revenge, I tell myself, unclenching my fists. My shoulders have shot up to my ears and I coax them down. I’m proud of the self-control I can muster when I need to, and I do. I still have a lot to do before my tennis lesson.

In fact, I have a lot to do before graduation tomorrow night, when we all enjoy the culmination of Betsy’s activities, both at school and outside of school.

She’ll be so surprised.

27

5:00 p.m.

The yoga class begins at about five minutes after five, every Wednesday.

The teacher is late every week, the class attendees perpetually on time. An interesting and upside-down dynamic, but I decide she must be a good teacher or they wouldn’t put up with it.

I wouldn’t put up with it. I do know it’s important to have a proper instructor because yoga taught incorrectly has the potential to kill you. It’s tragic, but true. There are endless stories of injuries to backs and limbs, but consider the danger of overstretching the head and neck. Consider the shoulder stand where you raise your legs into the air, and the plow where your feet go over your head and touch the floor behind you. Both, seemingly innocuous poses. But reductions of blood flow in your basilar artery can cause a fatal stroke. It’s happened many times.

Through the window I see the teacher unfurl her lime-green mat in front of the group. I count ten students lined up on their mats in a row, facing toward the back wall and the tardy teacher. Their backs are to me, feet stretched out in front of them. As they begin their sun salutation series A, I watch for the upward-facing dog of the man on the far right side of the room.

According to a Columbia University study, yoga’s extreme bending and contortions resulted in back, shoulder and knee injuries, neck injuries and strokes more often than death.