Delphie Denise Bookham is the protagonist and narrator of The Love of My Afterlife. She was born and raised in central London, where she lived with her mother and father until their divorce during her high school years. She had few friends when she was growing up but became close with a girl named Gen Hartley. After her parents’ divorce, Delphie’s mother experienced hardships that she didn’t want Gen to witness, so Delphie kept away from home. Meanwhile, her mother viewed her marriage as a failed project and came to believe that Delphie was a failure too. Though her mother seemed to care for her, Delphie always felt dismissed by her, especially after the woman moved to Texas with a new romantic partner and joined an isolated artists’ commune. 

Throughout the novel, Delphie is highly influenced by her past misfortunes and traumatic experiences. In high school, Delphie was ruthlessly bullied by Gen, who held a grudge against Delphie for pushing her away. Delphie was teased for her frizzy hair and her interest in drawing, and she therefore began to hide those parts of herself. Delphie never stopped thinking about her negative high school experiences, and she fixated on the fact that she lost trust in everyone she cared about during that time.