Content Warning: This section references mental health conditions.

“His heart ached, and he hated himself for it. He hated the tears that were coursing down his cheeks, which he could no longer pretend were sweat. He hated what he had done to his stupid life and that he had no one else to blame. In that moment he felt broken in a way that could not be undone.”

Jake is out on the road, taking a trip in his wheelchair. He’s thinking about all the things in his life that he used to enjoy but can no longer do because he’s paraplegic. He must somehow find a way back from despair and depression.

“Alice kept certain thoughts behind a firmly closed door in her mind and had resisted Dr. Zimmerman’s gentle prodding. Now, without warning, the door opened a crack. Later she would blame fatigue for her careless bargaining with herself. I’ll just think of his face, she thought. Just that. Then the door burst open and the memories flooded her.”

Alice is still dealing with the stress and grief triggered by the death of her husband, Buddy. Dr. Zimmerman is her therapist. In this scene, she’s driving home when she’s suddenly overwhelmed by memories of Buddy. She thinks she can control the bounds of her memory but is mistaken. Unaware that she’s speeding, she only narrowly avoids hitting Jake in his wheelchair moments later.

“Harry stood outside in the darkness and looked up at the stars, which were so bright there far from any city, brighter than any he’d ever seen. Then he heard the deep, pulsating call of an owl throbbing through the woods around him. Harry could not have said which tree the great bird sat in, as the call seemed to be everywhere at once. The hoot came again, and Harry felt it settle into his chest and fill his heart.”

Like Jake and Alice, Harry, who is new out west, is struck by the beauty of the area’s natural surroundings. The brightness of the stars emphasizes the difference of this rural area from the more urban area he was accustomed to on the East Coast. His reflections on the peaceful night scene give him some temporary rest from his troubles.