After a loved one dies, which of the emotional repercussions is the most difficult to overcome? Is it the constant, pressing thought of how loving they were? Is it the daunting task of having to move on? In Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones, the Salmon family faces the anguish of mourning after their daughter and sister, Susie Salmon, is raped and murdered by the neighborhood hermit. Prior to her death, Susie had been a precocious, brilliant, yellow-bell-bottom-wearing 14-year-old girl with a smile that was bright enough to light up a city block. She enjoyed building ships in bottles with her father; was on the verge of her first romantic relationship with Ray Singh, an intelligent boy from her school; and dreamed about what life would be like once she was an adult. Widely-loved by her family, her friends, and her teachers, Susie drifted around like any other teenager; however, her life comes to a bitter end just before the book begins. Her family is blindsided by the loss, because, quite frankly, it is severely unexpected. Even with the entire town rallying behind them and offering support, the Salmon’s find it near-impossible to cope with Susie’s death. Instead of allowing their cuts to bleed, they are quick to cover up their wounds.
