Scott Carey of Castle Rock is losing weight. His clothes still fit the same, he even looks the same, but no matter what he does the numbers on the scale keeps going down. He is left puzzled and worried about what will happen if the number gets down to zero.

I really enjoyed this short story because it is not like Stephen King’s typical horror fare. It deals with one man living in a small-ish town going through a personal crisis. Yes, the crisis is strange, but ultimately, the story is about coming to terms with the possibility of death and the unknown. It also deals with the ties that bind us to people. When we are going through stress, trauma, and/or death, the people who remain by our sides can be surprising or shockingly predictable.

This book is ultimately about hope, acceptance, and togetherness. Given the current state of affairs, I think we could all use a little bit of that.