# Please help me locate this story - originally in Readers' Digest **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 5, 2019, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-locate-this-story-originally-in-readers-digest/843023 "2019-11-05T11:46:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mandala](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mandala/32/95_2.png) [@mandala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mandala)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-locate-this-story-originally-in-readers-digest/843023/1 "2019-11-05T11:46:29Z")
The story titled ‘Watches of the Night’ appeared in the Readers’ Digest magazine in the late 80s I think. The short story is about a woman author reflecting on the loss of loved ones in the wee hours of the morning, unable to sleep. The story (may have been semi-autobiographical) was moving and I immediately liked it. However it seems to have disappeared from the internet. (I managed to locate and download it a few years ago, only to lose it again.) Can anyone help me locate this story, or identify the issue of RD in which it was printed, and I will try to buy it on eBay. TIA! ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-locate-this-story-originally-in-readers-digest/843023/2 "2019-11-05T17:09:25Z")
Was it an actual short story, or was it one of their condensed books? Fiction or non-fiction (I know you mentioned semi-autobiographical, but that can still apply to both!)? What section did it appear in? Since RD was effectively a news aggregater, do you recall if it was attributed to another publication? Answers to these may help. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-locate-this-story-originally-in-readers-digest/843023/3 "2019-11-05T17:11:54Z")
(Also, is it “watches” or “watchers”?) ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-locate-this-story-originally-in-readers-digest/843023/4 "2019-11-05T17:26:38Z")
You mean the Rudyard Kipling story? ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Gay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-locate-this-story-originally-in-readers-digest/843023/5 "2019-11-05T17:35:30Z")
[Here’s one](https://wellwateredwomen.com/the-watches-of-the-night/) with the same title, but it’s more about Jesus than lost loved ones, so might not be the same one you are looking for. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-locate-this-story-originally-in-readers-digest/843023/6 "2019-11-05T17:48:49Z")
EBSCOhost’s index of _Reader’s Digest_ does not find any article by that title, using either _Watches_ or _Watchers_ back to 1984. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-locate-this-story-originally-in-readers-digest/843023/7 "2019-11-05T19:59:59Z")
You can look at the covers for back issues at this website (I already did a search for 1984 - 1989): [https://backissues.com/titles/Readers-Digest-Magazine/46?sortBy=codeAsc&dateRangeFrom=1984&dateRangeTo=1989](https://backissues.com/titles/Readers-Digest-Magazine/46?sortBy=codeAsc&dateRangeFrom=1984&dateRangeTo=1989) I did not look at all the covers, but you can. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-locate-this-story-originally-in-readers-digest/843023/8 "2019-11-05T20:13:16Z")
Got it. December 1986. “Watches of the Night” by Ardis Whitman. [https://backissues.com/issue/Readers-Digest-December-1986](https://backissues.com/issue/Readers-Digest-December-1986) As for the actual text of the story, you’re on your own. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-locate-this-story-originally-in-readers-digest/843023/9 "2019-11-05T20:16:36Z")
Comparing that with EBSCOhost, I now see that their indexing is less than complete. They show 4 articles in the December 1986 issue. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-locate-this-story-originally-in-readers-digest/843023/10 "2019-11-05T20:28:15Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Got it. December 1986. “Watches of the Night” by Ardis Whitman. > > [https://backissues.com/issue/Readers-Digest-December-1986](https://backissues.com/issue/Readers-Digest-December-1986) > > As for the actual text of the story, you’re on your own. Congratulations! lol, I read that “Ford: The Man and His Machine” book. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-locate-this-story-originally-in-readers-digest/843023/11 "2019-11-05T22:20:47Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Got it. December 1986. “Watches of the Night” by Ardis Whitman. > > [https://backissues.com/issue/Readers-Digest-December-1986](https://backissues.com/issue/Readers-Digest-December-1986) > > As for the actual text of the story, you’re on your own. There are copies available at Amazon for about $7 including shipping. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2019, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-locate-this-story-originally-in-readers-digest/843023/12 "2019-11-06T01:25:40Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Got it. December 1986. “Watches of the Night” by Ardis Whitman. > > [https://backissues.com/issue/Readers-Digest-December-1986](https://backissues.com/issue/Readers-Digest-December-1986) > > As for the actual text of the story, you’re on your own. Nice job! ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2019, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-locate-this-story-originally-in-readers-digest/843023/13 "2019-11-06T03:56:04Z")
Thank you! Thank you. 😉 Fortunately, Reader’s Digest conveniently prints their TOC on the cover. ---
**Author:** ![mandala](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mandala/32/95_2.png) [@mandala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mandala)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2019, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-locate-this-story-originally-in-readers-digest/843023/14 "2019-11-06T15:50:44Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Got it. December 1986. “Watches of the Night” by Ardis Whitman. > > [https://backissues.com/issue/Readers-Digest-December-1986](https://backissues.com/issue/Readers-Digest-December-1986) > > As for the actual text of the story, you’re on your own. Yes, this seems to be it! Thanks so much! It’s nice to know we can still track stuff from the pre-electronic age. 🆒 Thanks to all the good folks that responded. If the story is not the same, the search continues. (Planning to buy this issue on Amazon or eBay.)