62 pages • 2 hours read
Kathleen GlasgowA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses substance abuse and overdose.
In her author’s note at the end of the novel, Kathleen Glasgow states:
When we think about the twenty million people facing substance abuse disorder, we also have to think about the people not included in that number who are touched by it in some way. Family members. Friends. Schools. Communities. And when you add those people, the number of people affected by addiction rises exponentially. (379)
Inspired by a note she found at an author event from a young girl whose sister had an addiction, Glasgow chose to write You’d Be Home Now from the perspective of Emory, a family member affected by her brother’s substance abuse. Through Emory’s eyes, the narrative portrays the immense impact that addiction has on those on the periphery. Glasgow also explores the consequences of addiction on those outside the family and into the community at large.
After bearing the burden of Joey’s addiction alone for a year, Emory is depleted emotionally. When Joey returns from rehab, Emory struggles to trust him and the emotional strain continues as she lives in constant fear of him relapsing. Joey’s addiction often plunges the entire household into emotional tension and turmoil. Feelings of concern and sadness morph into bitterness and angst, as Emory longs for a normal teenage life. She states, “when you live in a house where all the energy is directed toward one person, and that person is your troubled brother, well, you get kind of hungry to be seen” (71). Glasgow highlights the ripple effects of addiction by mentioning the “house” before the “troubled brother,” emphasizing the community before the person with the addiction to create the sense of scale discussed in the author’s note. Emory’s feelings are echoed in the characters of Jeremy and Liza as they have also been affected by family members with substance abuse disorder. Conversely, Glasgow highlights the impact of community on the person with the addiction: Addiction causes Joey to feel isolated and misunderstood by his family which leads to depression and returns him to a cycle of drug abuse putting additional stress on his family and friends.
While showing the devastating impact of drug abuse on one family, Glasgow also explores the impact of the opioid crisis on the wider community. Schools must deal with students like Max arriving at school high and passing out in their lunch, and cities languish under increased incidents of crime–portrayed through Luther Leonard–and overdosing which overburdens social services and the healthcare system. Mill Haven lacks the resources and empathy to care for its citizens with addictions and simply forces them to the outskirts of town to survive on their own. While at the outpatient clinic with Joey, Emory sees firsthand the immense need for better facilities and more comprehensive care. The overcrowded, trash-strewn, dismal building doesn’t look like a place that offers much help or hope. Serving a community in the grips of an epidemic is costly, and in the end, Emory’s family chooses to leverage their family’s legacy to aid their community in taking the first step towards recovery and healing. However, the novel suggests that one doesn’t need generational wealth or property to help their neighbor in need. As Mr. Stanley states, “[y]ou get up every day and try to love your people, even if they make it hard” (351). Glasgow hence explores how families and communities are disadvantaged by addiction but suggests that they can respond with true benevolence instead of condemning.
Glasgow presents memories as powerful agents of pain or comfort that can help construct a person’s identity. At first, Emory’s fractured recollections of what happened the night of the accident are cut through by her intense physical and emotional pain. Through the delirium of shock and medication, Emory labors to reconstruct what happened, but her mind repeatedly returns to the moments after the crash and the sights and sounds of Candy’s last breaths: “I close my eyes, the sound of her broken breath swirling in my head” (18). Memory becomes a source of guilt and pain as Emory blames herself for the accident and Candy’s death. Over time, however, Emory’s memories become clearer, and she creates a coherent narrative of the events leading up to the accident. As the picture sharpens, Emory can see that many factors converged to create disaster that night, and none of them were solely her fault. Retelling the story to herself helps Emory come to terms with the tragedy, integrate the experience into her life, and begin the process of moving forward. Since her parents refuse to speak of the tragedy, Emory’s reconstruction of events validates her experience, helping her to release the emotions surrounding the event.
Not all of Emory’s memories are traumatic. When she is in her deepest moments of sorrow and grief, Emory remembers the times when her family was happiest, particularly their vacations to the beach. Her memories remind her of a time before Joey began using drugs. Emory recalls that “it was nice being with Joey, looking at the sea as the sky changed colors, watching the waves as they went from blue to black, music in our ears” (79). When she returns to school after the accident, Emory reminds herself of how Joey helped calm her anxiety on the first day of ninth grade. Emory reminisces about the joy of her friendship with Liza before Abigail ended it, and the students at Heywood share memories of their friends that they’ve lost and post their pictures in a special cabinet in the hall as a memorial. Memory serves as a powerful element of the novel as Emory uses it to revisit her trauma and build resilience as she reflects on all that she has endured and connects with her past, not just for mournful nostalgia but as a hopeful wish for a better future.
The novel begins with an epigraph from Mary Oliver’s poem “The Summer Day”: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do/ With your one wild and precious life?” (3). It is a question that the teenagers in this novel face as they consider the meaning of their existence. The novel shows that, though family of origin is the first and most influential factor in an adolescent’s identity development, an important part of coming of age is developing a sense of self outside the family unit. For Emory Ward, her identity is marked early by her family’s socioeconomic status and her birth order. She is not only the town rich girl but also lives in the shadow of her two older siblings, her life feeling anything but “wild” or “precious.” When Emory is a young teenager, Abigail Ward creates a persona for Emory through dance classes, clothing, and room decorations without ever asking Emory who she wants to be. In Emory’s sophomore year, she becomes her brother’s protector and puts aside her identity to hide his addiction. After the tragedy of the car accident, Emory longs to create a sense of self to find her place in the world and ground herself after the trauma. Fearful of her parents’ and peers’ rejection, Emory constructs a new identity in the shadows which leads to conflict within herself and eventually the outside world. She describes the immense weight of remaining hidden: “The thing about being invisible is, you’d think it would feel light and airy and easy, no pressure, but it doesn’t. It’s the heaviest thing I’ve ever known” (34). For the first time, Emory builds her image, but it’s through shoplifting and her pool house meetings with Gage, and both endeavors leave her feeling empty.
A teenager’s search for identity is closely connected to their mental and emotional well-being, and soon the suppression of the truth begins to wear on Emory. It's Liza who first encourages Emory to develop an authentic identity separate from her parents’ constraints, Joey’s addiction, and her attraction to Gage. Maddie also encourages Emory to place more value on herself in seeking healthy and fulfilling relationships. Emory verbalizes her deepest desire, which is “[t]o be seen. Make somebody’s face light up, get bright. Like I matter” (214). Unlike Joey, who created a hidden life in the attic which led to disaster, once Emory’s secrets come into the light she abandons a life in hiding and uses the stage to share with the world her truest self. Once Emory prioritizes her happiness, she sets boundaries in relationships and finds a true connection with Daniel. In her final letter to Mr. Watson, she concludes that “adults […] see kids as they want them to be, what they aren’t and not as they are" (374-75). Through Emory’s profound transformation, Glasgow underscores the importance of allowing teenagers the freedom to discover their own identity without the pressure to convert or conform to a stereotype.
By Kathleen Glasgow