Comfort & Joy

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2005

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1, Chapters 1-4

Part 1, Chapters 5-9

Part 2, Chapters 10-12

Part 2, Chapters 13-14

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

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Part 2, Chapters 13-14Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 2, Chapter 13 Summary

Joy is unable to stop herself from screaming as the plane touches down in Washington. She is still shaking as she walks through the airport. She rents a car, buys a map, and heads toward the coast. She finds the road that cuts between the rainforest and the coast, knowing that if her town exists, she’ll find it there. She is both excited and terrified, wondering whether she will find what she seeks or if her experience was only a metaphor for what might come. She calls Stacey to let her know she arrived, and Stacey explains that she believes she will find her town because Joy herself believes. She drives through several towns without recognizing them. On the beach in a town called Queets, she recognizes the driftwood and the trees, but not the sand. She sees a sign for a town called Rain Valley and feels a flutter in her stomach. Rain Valley looks like her town, but it is also distinctly different. It’s a “funhouse mirror” version—the diner has a similar name, but not identical. It makes her question the reliability of her mind. When Joy describes the lodge to a woman at the diner, she says it doesn’t exist, but when she mentions Daniel and Bobby, she recognizes the names. The woman warily tells her to look for Lakeshore Drive, asking her not to bring them any trouble, and Joy drives there.

After driving past and circling back to look again, she finds a sign for Spirit Lake and follows it. She reaches a barricade that warns of high water on the road. She parks on the side of the road and picks up the phone when Stacey calls. She gives Stacey the update and vows to continue down the road. She exits the car and begins walking with her cane. Enormous trees line the road and moss covers everything. Confident in her decision to continue, she walks on a log down the flooded road. She walks for a mile until she hears the noises of the lake and sees the lodge. The surroundings look similar, but the details are different. The lodge is a Victorian mansion with a moss-covered porch. There is no red truck in the driveway, no kayaks on the shore, and no dock on the lake. She remembers the lake, trees, and the swing set nearby, but she knows when she sees it that she has never been there before. As she takes it in, she once again questions her mental reliability. She forces herself to continue moving forward.

Part 2, Chapter 14 Summary

Joy hears Bobby’s voice and finds him in the clearing in the woods. At first, he does not believe that she is there. Then, he feels betrayed because she left when she promised to stay. He denies her presence and tells her that he does not want to be “crazy” anymore. She asks him to trust her one more time, offering him the arrowhead. Bobby feels relieved that she was real. They embrace, and he remarks that she feels real this time. She wonders if she will ever know what actually happened, but for now, she tells Bobby that it was magic. She will have to believe that, too.

Bobby shows her the cabins, which are fixed up exactly how she suggested, though she forgot them when her memories of her time there started to fade. They go searching for Daniel, and Joy fears that it will be more difficult to explain herself to him. When they find him, she says the words Daniel told her to say if she ever wanted to come back. He recognizes Joy because Bobby drew photos and constantly talked about her. He tells her she is beautiful and asks who she really is. She notices the similarities and differences in the living room: the decorations are still there, but there is no check-in desk. When Joy sees the Christmas tree in the corner of the room that shelters a present with her name on it, she realizes that until that moment, she has missed Christmas. Daniel explains that it is their sixth tree since December because Bobby refused to have Christmas without her. On the tree, she finds an ornament Bobby made of clay that portrays the three of them. She begins to cry and says they must think she’s “crazy,” but Daniel responds that he believes in magic. Daniel pulls her close and kisses her. She does not understand what happened or how it happened, but she knows that they will always believe in magic.

Part 2, Chapters 13-14 Analysis

In the final section, Joy lets the proof of the arrowhead carry her to Washington, and she returns to Rain Valley.

When Joy approaches Rain Valley, she immediately knows it is the town she remembers from her coma. At the same time, the town is different. She describes the town center: “Only the ice-cream shop is exactly as I imagined it. And the church. My version is so close that I feel weak in the knees […] Was I here or wasn’t I? Am I crazy?” (222). The only two places that align with her memories are the two places she visited with Bobby and Daniel: the church and the ice-cream shop. She remembers these places because she was not there alone. This ties directly to the theme of The Mysterious Impact of Magic, as Joy’s experience in Rain Valley defies explanation. The magic lies not only in her memories but in the way they overlap with reality, creating a liminal space that bridges the physical and mystical. She may not trust her own perception, but she trusts her shared experience with Bobby and Daniel. Joy’s journey as a whole raises questions about the power of memory: Her experience there seems to exist on an alternate plane of existence, similar but different to the world she knew before her plane crash. Given the extent of the disparity between her brain and body’s experiences since December, Joy has trained herself not to trust her own brain. She is both elated and horrified to find Rain Valley, and her questions of her mental state remain unanswered. After months of pushing herself to let go of this fantasy and stop trusting her memory, she must face that her experience In Rain Valley was, on some level, real. Once again, Joy questions her perception of reality even as she walks a familiar road.

As Joy struggles to make sense of her rapidly changing reality, she makes various allusions to works that explore the supernatural. When she sees the town, she says, “I feel as if I’m in a Twilight Zone episode” (221). As she tells Stacey on the phone that she may have found the O’Sheas, she says, “I could be Brad Pitt/Twelve Monkeys crazy” (225). Right before she gains the courage to walk onto their property, Joy wonders, “Maybe I’m not really her […] maybe I’m in the hospital still, on killer drugs. In a coma. I’m Neo in The Matrix before they save him” (227-28). By referencing these fictional stories, Joy tries to make sense of her mental state. The Twilight Zone often explores supernatural occurrences like alternative worlds, Brad Pitt’s character in Twelve Monkeys doubts his own sanity, and Neo in The Matrix is shown a world beyond the world he’s inhabited his entire life. Through these allusions, Joy processes her journey and the blending of the real and imagined, reflecting her internal struggle to accept the impossible as part of her reality. They ground her in reality and allow her to process the impossible in real-time through cultural touchstones that will help her find the courage to reunite with Bobby and Daniel.

When Bobby and Joy meet for the first time in real life, they are both relieved to know that their experiences were not entirely made up. Both have been told for months that they are “crazy” and their experiences are not real, so when Joy presents the arrowhead to Bobby he says, “I knew […] I’m not crazy” (232). This moment ties directly to the theme of Processing Pain Through Love. Bobby’s and Joy’s belief in each other validates their individual struggles and gives them the strength to continue healing. When he asks Joy how she was there before, she considers that she may never know what happened: “For now, all I can do is shrug and say the thing I do know. ‘Magic.’ He thinks about that. ‘Okay.’” (232). This interaction, sealed with the proof of the white arrowhead, validates both of their experiences and proves that they should have faith in themselves, each other, and something greater. The white arrowhead becomes the ultimate symbol of The Mysterious Impact of Magic, grounding their faith in a tangible object while embracing the unexplained forces that brought them together. This magical conclusion begins as an explanation for Bobby, but in the end, Joy, Daniel, and Bobby all believe in the magic of their reunion. What begins as a childish, simplified, convenient notion to explain the illogical events of the past few months becomes a core belief for all three of them.

As Joy notices the Christmas tree with her name on a present underneath, she realizes the depth of Bobby and Daniel’s love for her. Bobby’s insistence on keeping Christmas alive until Joy’s return demonstrates his unwavering belief in her and his own reality. This act is an embodiment of Finding Happiness By Helping Others, as Bobby’s faith in Joy, rooted in love, helps her regain her sense of self and belonging. In turn, Joy’s return allows Bobby and Daniel to finally let go of their loneliness and trust in the family they’ve created together. Joy’s final embrace of magic and her kiss with Daniel mark the culmination of her transformation. What began as a journey of despair has become one of connection, healing, and belief, with the themes of Processing Pain Through Love, Finding Happiness By Helping Others, and The Mysterious Impact of Magic woven into every part of her new life.