“Lucas talked about Kate often, mentioning her in casual conversation almost every day. He made it sound as if she were at the store and would soon come home. At first it had disconcerted the rest of them, but in time, like the gentle, ceaseless roll of the waves, Lucas had brought Kate into their circle again, kept her present, shown them the way to remember her.”

Lucas quickly learns to grieve in a healthy way that is helpful to both him and those around him. His willingness to talk of Kate openly contrasts Marah’s refusal to do so. This foreshadows that Lucas and his brother will continue to handle the emotions surrounding their mother’s death in an effective way, but that Marah will not.

“On my show, I used to tell my viewers that you could have it all in life. I told them to ask for help, to take time for yourself, know what you want. Be selfish. Be selfless. The truth is I have no idea how to have it all. I never had anything except my career. With Kate and the Ryans, it was enough, but now I see the void in my life.”

Tully has always presented a confident and composed exterior. Now, that exterior crumbles, too, as she becomes emotionally weakened due to the loss of her best friend. It is important that here she admits the emptiness in her life and her shortcomings as this should prove the first step toward repairing the hurt she feels.

“Instead of looking away from heartache, you needed to crawl inside of it, wear it like a warm coat on a cold day. There was peace in loss, beauty in death, freedom in regret. She had learned that the hard way.”

Marah speaks here of her approach to handling grief and similar unpleasant feelings. There is a degree of pride in her tone, as though she feels that suppressing and ignoring her pain is to be applauded. As the novel continues, Marah’s method of numbing and ignoring her pain will become increasingly problematic.