Content Warning: This section contains depictions of suicide and suicidal ideation, child sexual assault, abuse, rape, and alcohol use disorder.

The narrator reveals that Bob Burgess, 65 years old, is the main character, and he doesn’t know himself as well as he thinks he does.

It is August in Maine, and the leaves are already turning. One tree is already yellow, but locals are surprised—it has never been the earliest tree in Crosby to turn.

Bob Burgess and his wife, Margaret Estaver, are both well-respected in Crosby. Margaret is a Unitarian minister in town. Bob, who was born and raised in the area, returned from New York City 15 years ago, and although he is officially retired as a lawyer, he still takes a case occasionally. Local gossip tells the story of Bob’s great tragedy—when he was four years old, he accidentally released the gearshift of the family car, which rolled down the driveway and killed his father.

Olive Kitteridge likes Bob Burgess, although she doesn’t care for Margaret. The pandemic was difficult for Olive, but the hardest part was that her best friend, Isabelle Goodrow, moved from the retirement community where they both lived to the nursing home.