The Man in the Next Bed — David K. Shipler

In this heartbreaking and extraordinary first foray into fiction by Pulitzer Prize winning author of Arab and the Jew and The Working Poor, David K. Shipler has delivered a miniature masterpiece.

Gibson has learned to keep his spirits up as he receives care from his many doctors, nurses, and attendants. He likes to watch the bustling goings on in the ward from his hospital bed, crack witticisms, and make his caretakers smile -- even when the news isn't good. Gibson is an engineer, and he likes to understand how people work. When a young man gets placed in the bed beside his, hidden behind a paisley curtain, Gibson becomes privy to the intimate, private pains of his young neighbor's life and forms with him the kind of fleeting human connection that will reverberate to the depths of his memory and soul. 
 
A Vintage Shorts Original. An ebook short.