Robert Klose

Robert Klose teaches at the University of Maine at Augusta. He is a regular contributor of essays to The Christian Science Monitor. His work has also appeared in Newsweek, The Boston Globe, Exquisite Corpse, Confrontation and elsewhere. His books include “Adopting Alyosha — A Single Man Finds a Son in Russia,” “Small Worlds — Adopted Sons, Pet Piranhas and Other Mortal Concerns," “The Three-Legged Woman & Other Excursions in Teaching" and the novels, "Long Live Grover Cleveland," which won a 2016 Ben Franklin Literary Award and a USA BookNews Award, and "Life on Mars."

The Conspiracy

I was not alone. Every resident I knew had toyed with giving up. Even though I was several years older than the others it was still, sometimes, simply too much: the workload, the hostile or uncooperative patients, the long hours, the smug attending physician who, even at this juncture of our education, conveyed the impression that if we so much as considered quitting, maybe we should.
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