Content Warning: This section discusses death by suicide, sexual violence and abuse, and the complexities of living with depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder.

Adelaide is the protagonist of the novel. She is a complex, dynamic character who evolves over the course of the narrative. Before Adelaide meets Rory Hughes, she’s immersed in her personal life and goals. She is independent and making progress pursuing her professional goals through a graduate degree in London, England. She lives with friends, dates whoever she chooses, and imagines the future possibilities “of a secure job and a signing bonus so big she could swim in it” (18). These facets of Adelaide’s life are empowering and validating. At the same time, Adelaide’s constant busyness distracts her from her mental health conditions and inhibits her Journey Toward Self-Acceptance. She has a habit of filling her time with people and activities so that she doesn’t have to acknowledge her needs or confront her past hurts. When she starts seeing Rory, Adelaide redirects all of that energy toward their relationship rather than her future or well-being.

Adelaide’s early romantic experiences teach her that love requires sacrifice. Her high school relationship with Emory Evans and her years of casual dating cause her to associate intimacy with pain, abuse, and powerlessness, emphasizing the

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