Being Proactive

Throughout the novel, Paul is encouraged by Jenny to be more proactive, and this helps him overcome his guilt and grief caused by her murder.

At the beginning of the novel, Paul struggles with what he should be doing in Gritten, and finds himself “drifting between the house and the hospice” (61). He eventually finds himself at the bar where he finally meets Jenny. And she points out his lack of proactivity to him, saying, “… if you’re worried about what your mother said, just... do someth8ing about it? You might be right-it might be nothing. But there’s nothing to be scared of here” (69). And at first, Paul is hesitant to listen to her. He thinks she is wrong and that the past can still get to him. And while he does look through his things to figure out what his mother was talking...