Helen Garner
Helen Garner’s The Spare Room, loosely based on the death of one of Garner’s friends, is an unflinchingly honest narrative about an extremely challenging situation. Helen and her close friend, Nicola, struggle to maintain a friendship while Nicola undergoes experimental therapy for terminal cancer.
The narrative unfolds from Helen’s perspective as she prepares her spare room to receive Nicola. She approaches the task of care-giving with sympathy and compassion. She bathes Nicola, feeds her, goes with her to the doctor, and changes her bed sheets 2-3 times a day as needed. All the while, she cringes at the alternative treatments that leave Nicola completely debilitated, weakened to the point she can barely move, unable to control her bodily functions, shivering profusely, and suffering from unrelenting pain. Nicola persists in continuing with the treatment. Her cheery and indomitable conviction that the treatment will cure her of cancer eventually leads to a thoroughly exhausted Helen angrily confronting her.
The novel explores some very difficult issues. How does one deal with a dying friend who refuses to accept the inevitable? Nicola is willing to endure all manner of painful alternative treatments, convinced she will be cured. She expects Helen to believe in these cures and to nurse her while undergoing the treatment. While she has a right to choose her path for treatment, she has no right to impose the harrowing consequences of her choice on friends or family who are not professional care-givers. Helen runs herself ragged taking care of Nicola, witnesses her struggle with outlandish treatments that cause her incredible pain, and tolerates her stubborn refusal to see qualified medical professionals. She struggles with feelings of rage, guilt, and tenderness, feelings which leave her mentally and physically drained. We witness her increasing frustration and sense of helplessness. On the one hand, she wants to support her friend; on the other, she wants to shake some sense into her.
The novel skillfully portrays the contrasting worlds of a frustrated, guilt-ridden Helen with the cheery, desperate, living-in-denial spirit of Nicola. The writing is sharp, clear, and effective. It is a quick read but not an easy one due to its realistic treatment of the challenges that go with witnessing and caring for a loved one suffering from a terminal illness.