Novel Books in Clarksburg, Md., will likely close in a matter of weeks unless owner Patrick Darby can raise close to $50,000, the Washington Post reported. To that end, Darby has launched a GoFundMe campaign that has raised just over $13,556.
Up until last year, Darby's bookstore was having modest success, but beginning last year a series of professional and personal setbacks jeopardized the store's future, the Post wrote. In fall 2018, Darby's motor home that he used to travel to and sell books at literary events around the country broke down while he was in Tennessee, stranding him there for a month. Earlier this year the store's van broke down, and then, worst of all, he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in August.
"It was pretty dark," Darby told the Post. "I could either just give up on everything and call it quits. Or I could decide to try to fight this--that it's worth fighting for. I might lose out, but at least I know I tried. It's better than giving up." But without something miraculous happening, Darby said, the store will almost certainly close.