Writer Ross Gay’s new book is about finding joy in the face of loss – Oil City Derrick

After Ross Gay’s father was diagnosed with stage 4 liver cancer, Gay, while caring for his dad, made a surprising and gratifying discovery. His old man had freckles.

“The reason I got that close to him was because he was dying, but the joy it gave me to find out that he had freckles was a kind of grace,” Gay said. “Instead of being purely devastated by his dying, I was flummoxed by his beauty.”