comment on theme

Close examinations of relationships are scattered all throughout this collection in order to demonstrate the strength of human bonds in the face of various types of conflict.

Cass, in "The Starlight in Idaho," is a prominent example of how human relationships can help a person overcome strife. The majority of the letters he writes throughout the story are addressed to various members of his family, including his dad, grandma, sister, and two brothers. He writes to them, as he states at the end of the story, because they are the ones he loves and because this love he has for them gives him the strength to continue. His meditations on how the various members of his family have worked to shape his life into what it is today help him make sense of his situation and figure out how to proceed in life now that he is ready to address his addiction.