Content Warning: This section of the guide mentions trauma resulting from substance use.

Throughout That Was Then, This Is Now, Hinton traces Bryon’s progress from the relatively thoughtless world of his youth toward the complex realities of responsible adulthood. Faced with new choices as to what kind of person he wants to be and what kind of life he wants to lead, Bryon discovers that every choice comes with a cost.

As the novel opens, Bryon and Mark share a relatively carefree outlook. Mark, in particular, has a knack for getting out of difficult scrapes unscathed, something that both amuses and annoys Bryon. On one occasion, Mark reminds Bryon that he used to be the same way. In reality, of course, neither Bryon nor Mark enjoys supernatural protection from harm, but Mark acts as though he does. For the time being, they live in a world almost without consequences, free to steal, hustle, and fight without fear.

Bryon’s feelings on the subject change over time due to two primary factors. First, he comes to recognize Mark’s attitude as being rooted in a kind of selfish denial. He is shocked on one occasion to hear Mark insist that “nothing bad has ever happened to me” (112), given that Mark’s parents killed each other and Mark himself had been arrested and nearly killed, among other things.