How does the author use flashback in the novel, When Jeff Comes Home?

Jeff tells bits and pieces of his story throughout the novel, and he reverts to flashbacks when the terror in his past becomes too real to ignore. Atkins puts words in italics when Jeff thinks deep, unspoken thoughts that he is not yet ready to come to terms with or voice out loud. These italicized phrases are particularly insightful, and we quickly begin to understand the devastating effect Ray had on Jeff's psyche.