Family

The family dynamic throughout the novel is constantly shifting. As readers, we are introduced to families that break and fall apart just to come together again evolved. We are also introduced to families that were never whole to begin with.

At the loss of Ellie, Laurel loses sight of the family that she has left. She turns inward and loses sight of what is right in front of her. Her family becomes broken. Her children learn to live without her affection and her husband eventually seeks love from someone else. This is heartbreaking, but these broken pieces eventually become an entirely new family dynamic.

Paul and Bonny become their own family, as do Hanna and Theo and Jake and Blue. Laurel even joins Floyd and Poppy’s family dynamic. All of these pieces join to create a larger family healing from loss. The imagery of the...