By: Samuel Defazio

What’s something you regret in life? Is it not trying hard enough in college? Is it not going with a loved one when given the choice? Is it not being able to apologize for a traumatic experience you put another person through? Regret is one of the biggest themes in Stephen King’s 1999 collection of stories Hearts in Atlantis.

Within the collection, we follow five stories that somehow intertwine with each other following the events ranging from scary Low Men in Yellow Coats, Gambling Addiction, and Vietnam. Low Men in Yellow Coats is a creepy story connecting to King’s Dark Tower Universe that follows Bobby Garfield and his mother Liz dealing with a new neighbor and what that brings into their lives. Hearts In Atlantis deals with Peter Riley getting addicted to playing the card game Hearts in college and consuming his life while also being a story about one finding themselves. Blind Willie follows a veteran pretending to be blind to gain money from people who pass him by. Why We’re in Vietnam has veteran John Sullivan dealing with PTSD after the war and how it’s affected every aspect of his life.

All these stories one way or the other connects to Bobby Garfield after his interactions with The Low Men with each supporting character in Bobby’s life having to deal with what they regret from their youth or creating regrets as an adult. We all like to think about the past and sometimes that keeps us in a state of motionlessness. To be able to find ourselves and find our place we must move forward no matter what the cost.

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