Dan’s second-act number, "How Could I Ever Forget?" is a gut-punch. He recalls the sixteen years of caring for Diana, the sleepless nights, the ruined vacations, the sexless marriage. He admits that he has been so busy managing her illness that he forgot to grieve his own son. He sings, "Because I love you more than all / I signed away the life I knew." It is a devastating portrait of caregiver burnout.
: After an Off-Broadway run and significant rewrites (including cutting the original title song), it opened at the Booth Theatre in April 2009, starring Alice Ripley Recent Successes Next To Normal
, interacting with characters differently based on their individual perceptions of loss. Medical Treatment : After a suicide attempt, Diana undergoes electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) , which results in significant memory loss Dan’s second-act number, "How Could I Ever Forget