“‘You know me. You know I need to move. I can’t just sit here and—and…and marinate in all my misery. I need to be in motion. I need to go somewhere. I’m like a shark, you know? I just always have to be moving. I need to get water through my gills [...] If I stay here,’ I finally said, ‘I’ll die.’”

This early quote concisely characterizes Hannah as someone who continually tries to outrun her past, particularly after the death of her mother. By using a simile that compares Hannah to a shark—which typically needs to swim to breathe properly—Katherine Center suggests that Hannah’s life will be turned upside down if she does not leave Texas. This foreshadows how life as Hannah knows it will be changed completely once she takes her next assignment in Houston.

“Your pulse is elevated, your eyes are bloodshot, and your makeup is smeared. Your speech is rapid, and your voice is hoarse. You haven’t brushed your hair, your hands are shaking, and you’re out of breath. You’re a mess. So go home, take a shower, eat some comfort food, grieve the death of your mom, and then figure out some goddamned hobbies—because I guarantee you this: You’re sure as hell not going anywhere until you get your shit together.”

This quote of Glenn’s shows how little sympathy Hannah thinks he has for her, even as he is claiming to be sympathetic by forcing her to take a break. Like Hannah, Glenn puts work above all else, but while she wants to work regardless of the circumstances, Glenn does not want any of his agents to be emotionally compromised by tragedies in their personal lives. This quote also catalogs the callous nature of the many observations that the EPAs make due to their training, and the style is similar to many of Hannah’s own analyses of others throughout the novel.