For those of you who have not yet read the book, here are a few revealing excerpts. In this one, Blessing describes the small New England town in which his journey began:
"Marblehead is OLD, old in a way that goes beyond the normal peeling of paint and settling of foundations. There are places on earth where lives have been so vividly lived that the residue has become embedded in the very fabric of the walls and ten thousand moments still hang in the air like just-whispered words. Places where time itself becomes a living thing that hovers among the shadows of an old closet or rests a bony hand on the back of your shoulder."
Blessing is right. Marblehead is not like other towns. There is a haunting veil over this old village. Blessing sensed it and was drawn to it. In the following lines, Blessing talks to his friend, Peter Burrage, just before his disappearance:
“I can’t live like this, Burr — I can’t. I don’t know what’s real and what’s not anymore. For years I’ve been telling my patients to do the hard things, to look their fears in the eye. Sometimes the only way out is to go in. I hate the idea of it — more than I can tell you...
It goes way beyond a hole in the wall or even some shadow in the night. By going down there, I start to get my life back. I feel that, Burr. You have to let me do this!”
And so began the mysterious journey from which, as far as we know, Maxwell Blessing has yet to return.
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