How to End a Love Story

Content Warning: The source text and this guide include descriptions of a character’s death by suicide and the death of a minor in a car accident. They also include descriptions of anxiety and panic attacks.

The central tension in Helen and Grant’s relationship comes from his involvement in her sister’s death. So, overcoming grief and trauma is central to their individual character arcs and their romantic connection. Both of them struggle with their sense of worth and their capacity for love, while rarely confronting the real source of their pain. Their eventual decision to face the past is key to their developing relationship and love for each other, underlining that only through honest reflection can they achieve true happiness and a love that nurtures them both.

While Helen blames Grant for her sister’s death, she, too, harbors deep feelings of grief and guilt. In the novel’s first chapter, Helen shares her family’s resentment toward Grant. She orders him out of Michelle’s funeral and blames him for Michelle’s death while Helen’s own “wounded heart tries to punch him through her chest” (19). Later, when she runs into him as an adult, she continues to insist that he is responsible for the death and that he should take on the blame.