Summary

Seven years later, Cora watches her father fish with Leni and MJ. Grandma Golliher insists that Leni is happy with her family and their occasional trips to the wilderness of the Hoh Rain Forest, but Cora is uncertain. Leni attends university, takes photography classes, and works at a book store, but she has buried what remains of herself. Grandma is exasperated: “She’s forgiven you. You need to forgive yourself” (373). Cora cannot shake her guilt.

Leni becomes the first woman in her family to graduate from college, but she must remind herself to smile. She and Matthew dreamed of graduation, and every time Leni sees a blond man she thinks Matthew has found her. She uses her camera as a tool to control the memories. As a mother, she appreciates the safety of Seattle, but she still misses Alaska. The whole family revolves...