In Anything Is Possible, Strout emphasizes the importance of living in the moment instead of the past. Living in the past keeps characters stewing in resentment and low self-worth. When characters confront and overcome their past, they forgive themselves and others for past hurts.

Tommy and Mary exemplify the value of living in the present. When Tommy’s family farm burns to the ground, he chooses to let go of that chapter in his life and live only for the wellbeing of his wife and children. This frees Tommy from anger, sadness, and trauma. In freeing himself from the past, Tommy can be a good neighbor and compassionate citizen toward other people in town, like Pete Barton. Thus, letting go of past pain gives Tommy the grace to be kind to himself and to others. Likewise, Mary has a clear sense of self because of her reckoning with her past. She spent decades committed to a husband who cheated on her, and she survived health problems that might have overwhelmed other people. However, in her later years, Mary leaves her husband, marries a younger man, and moves to Italy. She knows that this may hurt her adult children but chooses to live for her present.