To Mercer, turtles symbolize her childhood with Tessa, which she calls “the happiest days of my life” (95). Her grandmother was passionate about turtles and their habitat, and cared for them just as she nurtured and protected Mercer, whose childhood was difficult and unstable in many ways. Turtles were a fundamental part of that experience, shaping even the course of their days together. The time she spent with Tessa was shaped by the habits and rhythms of the turtles. She tells Elaine: “Tessa had me up with the sun, checking on the turtles, the new arrivals that made their nests during the night” (96). This has such an impact on Mercer that one of her most admired stories is based on the experience.

Mercer’s reconnection with the turtles is one step of Moving Through Grief, particularly the scene in which she comes upon a loggerhead turtle laying her eggs. From the time she finds the tracks to when she falls asleep in the dunes, Mercer reexperiences her childhood, allowing her to remember the almost magical nature of that time. Turtles also symbolize the slow progression of time and the way that grief is not something quickly experienced. Like hunting for the tracks of the turtles, grief leaves traces of its presence.