The Canyon's Edge

In Nora’s “Before,” Dad and Mom were avid adventure seekers. Nora wished she had “Dad’s skill, / Mom’s passion” (140). Her parents had a close, loving relationship, and the loss of Mom affects him as deeply as it does Nora. Nora dreams of Dad, inconsolable, after Mom’s death, and badly wants Dad to “be like he used to be” (14). Since the shooting, Dad is in emotional and physical pain. He has had multiple surgeries to heal from the bullet wound in his leg but still walks with a limp and has difficulty with activities, like rappelling, that he used to do with ease. Now, Dad looks older and thinner, and his hair is longer and grayer. Like Nora, Dad has PTSD. He’s suspicious of other people, avoids public places, and, overprotectively, makes Nora avoid them too. Dad unconditionally loves Nora. He shows his love through his affectionate bad jokes, his desire to read Nora’s poetry, and his self-sacrifice. Dad saves Nora from the flood, though it carries him away, and his last words to her in the deluge are of her: “I love you / and / I’m sorry / and / Hold on” (40). Dad’s love empowers Nora in her journey to find him and helps her heal.

Present in the story through Nora’s memories and flashbacks, Mom’s character has a big influence on Nora. Mom had a joie de vivre that’s evident in her love of outdoor adventures like zip-lining and rafting. Mom loved and trusted in Dad to have her back during their sometimes-dangerous excursions. A fan of watermelons and toasting marshmallows and Beatles music, Mom was a writer and poet, and writing helps Nora still feel connected to her. Nora’s memories of Mom are overwhelmingly positive—except the memory of Mom covered in blood, which haunts Nora’s nightmare. To Nora, Mom is her nurturer, comforter, protector, and role model. Mom is “powerful / and fearless and brave” (182). Mom, summoned by Nora’s venom-tinged hallucinations, saves her from the Beast. Nora remembers that Mom, “even as the bullets / tore her apart, / told [her] she loved [her]” (276). Nora knows unequivocally that Mom loves her and is proud of her, which gives Nora strength and confidence and makes her life meaningful. Nora learns that Mom and her love will stay with her always, in her memories, her poetry, and her heart.

Another mom in the novel is Sofía Moreno—“just a regular mom” who made the same ultimate sacrifice for her two boys, and Nora, as Nora’s mom did: giving her life so that others can live (71). She tackles the gunman, dying in the process. Like Nora’s Mom, Sofía Moreno’s character illustrates the power of motherly love.

Nora shares a lot of happy memories and good times with her best friend, Danielle. Danielle taught Nora how to bake snickerdoodles and how to braid her hair in a fishtail. The two girls used to swim and gossip together, and Danielle went camping with Nora and her family. Danielle has brown eyes and a “funny laugh.” Dad jokingly thinks that Nora and Danielle “shared / the same strange brain” (112). Danielle accepts Nora for who she is and wants to help after the shooting, but Nora has pushed Danielle away, partly out of anger and resentment and partly because the trauma makes Nora think that Danielle can’t understand what she’s going through. As Nora gets more in touch with herself and her feelings, she recognizes how much she misses Danielle and realizes that she herself is to blame for the loss of Danielle’s friendship. Danielle shows the powerful love of friendship when she welcomes Nora back into her life.