You Cannot Escape the Past

The central theme of the novel deals with how the past affects the present; specifically, Walsh seems to be indicating that it is impossible for a person to completely escape their past. Eddie and Sarah are both people who are trying to leave the tragedies of their past behind. In the week they spend together, neither reveals information about the single most significant event in their pasts. Unfortunately, that event is the same for both of them—the accident in which Sarah was driving when Eddie’s younger sister Alex was killed.

In the week they spend together both Eddie and Sarah feel free from their past. Eddie is able to step away from being the sad guy whose sister died and who is now burdened with caring for his mentally ill mother. Sarah does not have to be the woman who...