96 pages • 3 hours read
Susan Beth PfefferLife As We Knew It
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2006A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Chapters 16-17Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part Three: Fall
Chapter 16 Summary
On November 7, Miranda finds that Mrs. Nesbitt has died in her sleep. She remembers Mrs. Nesbitt’s instructions and sets out on stripping the house of whatever her family can use. She wants to start the kitchen, but it feels ghoulish to do that, so she starts with the attic. She manages to find a Christmas present of old baseball cards for Jonny, and then sets about securing more things. She finally goes to the kitchen and finds some bottled water. More importantly, Mrs. Nesbitt’s well still has water, and she begins filling jugs to bring home with her. She is careful to make sure no one sees her with the provisions; otherwise Mrs. Nesbitt’s house will be looted before she can return to get the rest of the provisions. She finds her brothers outside and tells them about Mrs. Nesbitt’s death and her wish that they should take whatever can be useful to them. They return to the house and are able to get the provisions without being spotted. The second time, Miranda stays behind, and tells her mother the news. She gives her mother the jewelry and the photo albums she took from Mrs. Nesbitt’s attic. When her brothers return that night after taking Mrs. Nesbitt’s body to the hospital, the family has a special dinner in celebration of Mrs. Nesbitt.
On November 8, Miranda finds her mother in the pantry, weeping. She helps her back to her mattress, and thinks about how much she loves her mother. Peter visits on November 10. Miranda notes how gingerly he lifts her mother up and then sets her back down on the mattress and she is grateful for his tenderness. On November 15, Miranda weighs herself. Even with heavy winter clothes on, she is a mere 96 pounds. She thinks about how skinny they all are. Despite their weight loss, Matt and Jonny are all muscle, while her mother is sickly. Though they have food, they are extremely careful with it. They have no idea if or when they will get more. On November 18, they receive a letter from their dad. Though it is actually dated before their previous letter from him and says that he and Lisa are doing fine, Matt is overjoyed because it means that the mail system is still working to some degree and that they might get more letters. It also means that their father might still be on the road somewhere, doing just fine.
When Thanksgiving arrives, no one even pretends that they have anything to be thankful for. On November 25, Matt returns home with Peter and a chicken he has somehow obtained. The family is excited and has a nice meal. Though the chicken is scrawny, Miranda is delighted with it, as she has all but forgotten what real chicken tastes like. She thinks that the chicken must have revitalized her mother, because the next day Laura says that they all need to stop wasting their lives and start studying again. She suggests that Miranda studies history, saying “We may not have a future, but you can’t deny we have a past” (252). On November 30, Miranda returns to Mrs. Nesbitt’s house to look around. The house has been ransacked, but she finds most of the boxes in the attic are undisturbed. She wants to find a Christmas present for Matt; she has the box of chocolates for her mother and the baseball cards for Jonny. She finally finds some color pencils and paper, and remembers that Matt used to draw, so takes them for his present. On December 1, Miranda returns to the pond to skate. The air quality is so poor, however, that she can hardly skate. She thinks about her encounter with Brandon, and then about how her family is down to eating one meal a day; she wonders if things will get better.
Chapter 17 Summary
On December 2, the family notices that it is snowing, and has been for some time. With the windows all boarded up, it took a while for anyone to notice. Though Miranda’s mother is worried about Matt, who is at work at the post office, they can now collect snow to use as water, which Miranda and Jonny do. Soon enough, however, the family realizes the downside to the snow and that they are dealing with a blizzard. They all return inside, but are worried for Matt, who is still in town. Miranda wants to go and get Matt, but her mother refuses to let Miranda go, saying she cannot lose two children. Miranda knows that Matt might get lost trying to return home in the blizzard, but she also knows that they will not be able to survive without him. Miranda again pleads with her mother to be allowed to go and find Matt, and Jonny says that he will take an oil lamp and search. Miranda chimes in that she and Jonny can take turns, so at least Matt can use the light from the oil lamp to navigate his way home. Their mother finally agrees, and the two siblings set about searching for their brother. The snow is so dense, however, and the wind is so strong that it is nearly impossible to stay out in the cold. Miranda realizes that she would not have been able to go to town and search for Matt. While waiting, she gets knocked over by a strong gust of wind and her oil lamp goes out. Miranda is frightened now, as Jonny has no way of finding her. Finally, she just sits on the ground and waits.
Just as Miranda starts to think of death, she hears a voice call out to her and realizes that it is Matt. He had to walk home with his bike from town. He is touched that she cares so much about him that she would search for him outside in this weather. The two of them head in the direction of home, and find Jonny. They use Jonny’s oil lamp to make it home where they get dry by the woodstove and spend the rest of the night watching the snow fall. Matt says that they should have enough water for a time, and that it will probably snow again. He also says that they are probably stuck at home now because the roads are covered in snow and there is no one to clear them. On December 4, Matt says that they need to clear the snow off of the sunroom roof as a precaution, but that the shovels are in the garage. When they reach the garage, they have to use pots and pans to clear away the snow before they can get in. While Matt and Jonny clear away the snow, Miranda and her mother do laundry. Miranda says that she is too tired to be scared, but they all know there are more trying times ahead.
On December 7, Matt tries to ski towards town with their cross-country skis, but says it is too hard. Miranda likes the idea that there is something that he cannot do. The family is on edge because they have spent almost a week crammed together in the sunroom. Everyone makes excuses to go upstairs or get out of the house, though eventually the cold forces them all back inside. Jonny realizes that no one else eats lunch, and is horrified that they have been doing this for a long time. Matt says that things will probably get worse, and that they may look back on these days as “the good times.” Jonny asks Miranda if she is alright with him eating more than the rest of the family, and she tells him she is, as it ensures he stays strong. He admits that he is not sure whether he can be strong, and asks Miranda how she can be alright with the thought of dying. Miranda says that if it means Jonny will live, she and the rest of the family will gladly die. If they do, he can leave and find somewhere else to live.
Jonny asks Miranda if she is still journaling, and when she says yes, he asks why. Miranda does not really know why she continues to write in her journal, and admits that she does not reread any of the entries. She says that she has to take one day at a time, and that every day is worse than the one before, which is a depressing philosophy, but the only thing she has to hold onto at the moment. She also realizes that Lisa should have had her baby by now, and decides that the baby has been born healthy and is called Rachel. She uses the thought of Colorado and Rachel as she once used the thought of spending the summer in Springfield, as a symbol of a brighter time.
Chapter 16-Chapter 17 Analysis
Mrs. Nesbitt’s death marks a significant transition for Miranda. As a friend of the family, Mrs. Nesbitt’s passing is similar to the passing of a family member. At the same time, Mrs. Nesbitt’s death allows Miranda’s family to extend their provisions a bit longer. Mrs. Nesbitt’s death reminds us how natural death is; her peaceful passing is opposed to the horrific death that Miranda. Miranda’s desire to learn how to die gracefully further suggests that death should not be feared. When one lives a good life, death is not a horrible thing. Mrs. Nesbitt’s death ultimately helps Miranda to act in a more mature way in her present situation.
Miranda comes face-to-face with her limitations in this section. When she tries to look for Matt during a blizzard, she realizes just how weak she is. She trips, knocking out the oil lamp’s light and leaving her with no way to find Jonny or Matt. The fact that Matt finds Miranda, instead of the other way around, highlights how reliant she is on others. She even thinks about how doomed the family will be if something happens to Matt, as they rely on him so much. At the same time, when Matt, Jonny and Miranda make their way home, the novel paints a picture of a strong familial bond and suggests how necessary our connections to others are, especially in times of crisis.
When Jonny realizes that the rest of the family is eating less so that he can eat more, Miranda is again faced with the concept of sacrifice. Is she really capable of sacrificing her own life for that of her brother’s life? Family and sacrifice become the two pillars that hold up Miranda’s world.
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