Summary of D. T. Max's Every Love Story Is a Ghost Story

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 David Wallace’s story is one of midwestern normality. His parents were professors at a public university in Illinois, and he and his sister grew up in a house full of books and learning. His mother was the center of the universe.

#2 Wallace’s mother, Sally, was a huge influence on him. She was smart and funny, and she included him in her love of words. She was also extremely strict about grammar, but that just added to the excitement of having a gifted mother.

#3 Wallace’s childhood was happy and ordinary. He was a skinny, gap-toothed kid with flaccid hair cut in bangs. He liked the Chicago Bears, loved their star linebacker Dick Butkus, and wanted to be a football player or a brain surgeon to help his mother’s nerves.

#4 Wallace’s approach to dealing with injustice was to appeal to his parents. He was a smart kid, but many adults found him a handful. He was constantly asking Why.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: May 16, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822516274

IRB Media

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Insights on D. T. Max's Every Love Story Is a Ghost Story

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

David Wallace’s story is one of midwestern normality. His parents were professors at a public university in Illinois, and he and his sister grew up in a house full of books and learning. His mother was the center of the universe.

#2

Wallace’s mother, Sally, was a huge influence on him. She was smart and funny, and she included him in her love of words. She was also extremely strict about grammar, but that just added to the excitement of having a gifted mother.

#3

Wallace’s childhood was happy and ordinary. He was a skinny, gap-toothed kid with flaccid hair cut in bangs. He liked the Chicago Bears, loved their star linebacker Dick Butkus, and wanted to be a football player or a brain surgeon to help his mother’s nerves.

#4

Wallace’s approach to dealing with injustice was to appeal to his parents. He was a smart kid, but many adults found him a handful. He was constantly asking Why.

#5

Wallace’s parents allowed him to watch television, but he was not allowed to be aggressive while watching it. He would tattle on his sister for any aggression she showed, and he would trade her his beloved Motobécane bike for her silence.

#6

Wallace’s will was intense, and he used sports as a way to socialize with the other kids. He was not good at sports, however, and was very awkward. He was always thinking about how unattractive he was.

#7

Wallace’s early life was marked by a mental disease that would later define his life. He was excessively afraid of mosquitoes, and his family did not notice any problems. He brought his focus to tennis, a sport that didn’t exist in his town, and became one of the best players.

#8

Wallace’s tennis career peaked early in high school. He was not the leader of the team, but he was not the last either. His teammates were more successful with girls than Wallace, and he was frustrated by this.

#9

Marijuana helped Wallace with his self-consciousness and anxiety. It also allowed him to be calm and emotional privacy, but it could also cause its own anxiety, marooning him in a private, claustrophobic consciousness.

#10

Wallace’s anxiety was growing by the end of high school, and he began having panic attacks. He saw the danger of a mind unhinged, and he would always fear the consequences of mental and emotional isolation.

#11

Wallace was a top student and athlete, and he was accepted to a prestigious private college. He dreaded interviews, and when he went to Amherst, he threw up in the ice bucket.

#12

During his last summer at home, he taught tennis with his friends Maehr and Flygare. He was eager