Signal Fires

In Parts 8-11, Shapiro explores time as nonlinear to emphasize character development. People are works in progress, and Shapiro’s narrative reveals that this progress never ends. Sarah and Theo are on their way to becoming fuller versions of themselves, but it is clear that this will be a lifelong process. Sarah goes to rehab to become sober, but even as a sober woman, she discovers that life is still full of chaos. Becoming sober doesn’t solve all her problems, but it does provide her with a community (AA meetings) through which to come to terms with the root of her problems: her guilt over Misty’s death. She is inspired by another AA member’s courage and candor to discuss Misty’s death. Sarah has never talked about Misty’s death with anyone, not even her husband Peter. Speaking out loud about Misty honors her death, but also forces Sarah to take public and personal accountability for what happened. This is the necessary step that has always been missing from her healing process. In overcoming her own stigma about the accident, Sarah can begin helping Theo acknowledge what happened and find a way to resolve his inner conflict.

Theo enjoys success in his future, becoming somewhat of a celebrity chef in New York City. But like his sister Sarah, financial and career-related success doesn’t necessarily equate to happiness. Theo continues to struggle with poor mental health and developing lasting relationships with women. He is alone and prefers it this way because he still doesn’t understand how to receive love. However, Theo develops a close relationship with his nieces. He actively wants to be a part of their lives and discovers that relationships grow and build through time and work. In developing his relationship with his nieces, he honors his mother. Mimi taught Theo how to give love, and he offers this love to his nieces. This proves that Theo is capable of giving love, despite his fear of the contrary.

Sarah and Theo working through their internal conflicts frame clarity and peace as often impossible to achieve in their entirety. People can experience moments of clarity and peace, but the human condition is not one of constant happiness. Rather, the human condition comprises many emotions. This message is also developed through Waldo, whose future self is a well-known scientist, husband, and father, but still Waldo. Through his friendship with Ben, Waldo learns how to practice the love he learned from his well-intentioned mother Alice (just as Theo learns love from his mother Mimi). Waldo internally resolves his issues with his father Shenkman by becoming a husband and father himself. He creates his own family and breaks the cycle of tension with Shenkman. He honors his past, knowing that the past coexists with the present and future, by returning to Avalon when his daughter is grown. This return to his past helps Waldo contextualize his present. He discovers that the magic tree has been torn down, but its influence lives on.

The magic tree returns as an important motif about time and longevity. At one point in its life cycle, the magic tree becomes an intertwined family of roots and wildflowers. The tree is physically multilayered, reflecting its complexity. Misty lives on through this tree, which Waldo discovers despite not knowing anything about Misty; he understands that a girl died by the tree. The tree symbolizes Misty, and all the other lives and stories that have existed around it—making it a physical manifestation of time as a loop. Just as Sarah and Theo are finally coming to terms with the past, so, too, does the tree help Waldo acknowledge a past that has nothing and yet everything to do with him. Just as the tree has interconnected roots, so, too, are people connect with one another through time and space in intertwined ways.

The novel ends at the very beginning. It takes the reader back to the narrative’s furthest point, when Ben and Mimi first move into their house in Avalon. The beginning of the Wilfs’ story, the ending of the novel, is a moment of pure joy. Through dramatic irony, the reader knows the tragedies to come. But on the day of the move, the future doesn’t matter because it is an inextricable part of the Wilfs’ story and yet unable to touch Ben’s present happiness. The novel ending at the very beginning frames time as nonlinear. The true story of the Wilfs is not just the first chapter of the novel, in which Misty dies: The true story is every layer, every day, of each of the Wilfs’ lives. The final chapter also reveals the origins of Ben’s love for his family home, which he carries through the tragedies of life. The house is a symbol of Ben’s love for his family, which is unbreakable no matter what happens.