orth on 101 by Anne Starr is an achingly intimate memoir of two siblings bound by love—and ultimately by loss. When Anne’s brother, Mansfield, is diagnosed with terminal cancer, she travels across the country to be by his side, drawn by an unspoken summons she can’t refuse. What she finds is a world reduced to a single bedroom, painkillers, and fragile hopes—yet illuminated by small, precious moments of humor and tenderness.

   As Mansfield’s health deteriorates, the siblings grapple with their shared history, from the eccentricities of their parents to childhood memories both cherished and haunting. Anne’s struggle for control over the uncontrollable—her brother’s relentless decline—echoes in every quiet routine, every unexpected burst of laughter, and every story they invent to keep despair at bay. Wrenching and luminous, North on 101 offers a profound exploration of what it means to face death with courage and love, discovering along the way the extraordinary intimacy that can blossom in life’s most unthinkable moments.