Aaron Tracy

More than any doctor, nurse, or therapist, Roald dominated the steps of Pat's recovery.

When Dahl finally takes his wife home, her right leg is in a brace and she has a patch over one eye.

He quickly hires a nurse, a physiotherapist, and a speech therapist.

Doctors warn him that more than an hour per day of therapy is too much for Neil.

But with no formal medical or therapeutic training himself, just an unshakable belief that he knows what's right, Dahl rejects their advice and creates a rigorous schedule for his wife.

All day, every day.

Their friends who visit are shocked at Dahl's militaristic attitude.

He seems to be torturing Neil.

He becomes unrelenting, forcing her to do speech therapy five hours a day.

The only thing that keeps Neil going is looking at Theo, seeing how well he's doing, which convinces her of the brain's ability to heal itself.

But of course, it's still an impossible struggle for Neal.

She can barely speak or move.

She has no agency.

She cries all the time.

As her speech comes back and fits and starts, she blows up at Dahl constantly.

And she asks Barry Farrell, the journalist who's covering all this and who's become one of her best friends, how to commit suicide.

Farrell, who's just 30, is totally freaked out by this world-famous actress asking him these questions.

He doesn't know whether he should tell Dahl or not.

It turned out not to matter, because one night at dinner, Farrell explains, Pat mentioned suicide in front of Rold and some guests, making her usual joke about not knowing how.

She had drunk a bit too much wine, and the laughter that spilled out of her as she spoke sounded wild and demented.