Content Warning: This section references drug and alcohol addiction.

The importance of the love and support of friends and family is central to Shouting at the Rain. The main conflicts in the novel surround the relationships between friends and family, such as the conflict between Delsie, Tressa, and Brandy; even the primary internal conflict—Delsie’s struggle to understand why her mother abandoned her—reflects this theme. Through both negative examples (e.g., Brandy and Tressa’s cruelty) and positive ones (e.g., the care of Grammy, Ronan, and Delsie’s neighbors), Delsie learns that family and friendship are not simply matters of blood relation or habit, and she comes to value the love she has.

Delsie begins the novel with deep, unresolved grief over her mother’s absence. She fears her mother’s abandonment was a rejection of her, and she feels nothing can replace her mother. These feelings intensify when her friend Brandy abandons her as well: Delsie feels uncared for and experiences a strong sense of desolation. However, Delsie soon meets and befriends Ronan, in whom she recognizes a mutual love for the sea and a similar internal struggle, as he too was left behind by his mother. Delsie also comes to realize that she has true friends in

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