In their struggle for survival, each member of the family has their own way of coping and recharging mentally? What activities help them to keep their spirits up?

Each member of the family has their own ways of getting their morale up. For Miranda it is skating on Miller's Pond, or decorating the sunroom to make it a home. For Matt it is skiing and going into town, and later drawing. For Jonny it is anything to do with baseball, and for their mom it is her insistence on them studying for their futures. Even mom joins in with this, learning French to give her something on which to focus. It is this determination to survive, and the conviction that life is good and not worth giving up on, that really keeps them alive through the difficult times.