Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death and emotional abuse.

The novel’s protagonist, Hazel, defines herself early as “the saddest rom-com novelist in the world” (10). Following her emotionally toxic marriage to Jim—who belittled her and undermined her career—Hazel’s sense of self-confidence has greatly diminished, and she’s developed a sense of imposter syndrome in her writing as a romance author.

This internal deterioration is mirrored outwardly by her disheveled lifestyle: “Old Hazel had only wandered out of the apartment looking—and smelling—like this on deadlines. Current Hazel scurried around the shadows of the real world like an anti-hygiene mouse pretty much twenty-four seven” (8). At the start of the novel, Hazel isn’t living so much as hiding. Yet her character arc is defined by her decision to move away from this stagnant state. Moving to Story Lake to chase inspiration for her new novel is her first step toward The Challenges and Rewards of Personal Reinvention.

Throughout the novel, Hazel is repeatedly challenged to stop being a passive observer of her own life. She recognizes this herself: “I’d never been involved before. My entire life I’d taken on the role of observer, which had been great for my writing career and a lousy slap in the face when my life came to a screeching halt” (45).