Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses domestic violence, attempted rape, molestation, gun violence, and violence against children.

“I knew how to be quiet in this house. It was important that I knew how to be quiet in this house.”

Archer is silenced long before he loses his voice. His trauma is not the result of a single incident, rather a lifelong journey toward understanding the complexities of interpersonal relationships. His only knowledge of his situation is found out through eavesdropping. Mia Sheridan hence begins the novel by exploring Varied Themes of Communication.

“As I walked back through my own yard to get my purse out of my house, I spotted a lone dandelion full of fluff. I bent and plucked it out of the ground and held it up to my lips […] After a minute I whispered, ‘Peace,’ before I blew and watched the fluff float out of sight, hoping that somehow one of those seeds carrying my whisper would reach that something or someone who had the power to make wishes come true.”

Bree makes this wish and drives into town where she meets Archer for the first time. After they meet, Bree sees dandelion fluff on her windshield. This is symbolic of Bree’s hope for relief from her trauma and a future of happiness.

“Some days I felt like I was barely holding onto my emotions from moment to moment. I supposed we all coped in our different ways—pain and healing as individual as the people who experienced them.”

Bree observes that trauma is both personal and universal. She sees that she and Archer both share the burden of trauma, but their journeys toward healing are unique. This establishes the fact that Archer and Bree’s character arcs will both converge and diverge, something that drives the tension in their romantic arc.