Lara

Lara is the first person narrator and main character of the novel. In the narrative present, Lara is 57 years old. She lives in Michigan on her family farm with her husband Joe. When the COVID-19 lockdown is put into place shortly prior to the start of the novel, Lara’s three grown daughters, Emily, Maisie, and Nell, return home. Throughout the novel, Lara remains on the farm with her daughters and husband. She spends the majority of the lockdown picking cherries and telling her girls stories about her past life.

When Lara was a teenager, she played the role of Emily in her high school’s production of Our Town. Although she had considered being many things, she had not previously considered acting as a career. However, once she started college at the University of New Hampshire, she participated in another series of productions. From here, she received...