I wanted to point out the hawk and tell her I was thinking about Josh, and I wanted to look directly into her eyes and say, We need to talk about him, Mama. We need to remember him and say his name.”
-- Teddi (chapter 1)

Importance: This is the first time that Josh is mentioned. It’s implied that he’s either missing or dead, which is one of the central conflicts throughout the book. This passage also implies that things are strained between Teddi and her mother.

In my imagination I could see the steady hands of a man working a piece of wood, carving each flower patiently and smoothing his fingers over what he’d just done. It was while we oiled that old chair and buffed it to a satiny sheen that I began thinking about what it might be like to fix up old furniture and sell it in my...
-- Teddi (chapter 2)