Point of View

This story is related from the first-person point of view of author Sonali Deraniyagala. She is both the narrator and protagonist of the story. Since this is a memoir, it is accepted practice that Deraniyagala’s story be written from the first-person perspective. Additionally, there is no one else who would be capable of telling such a captivating and heart wrenching story about Deraniyagala’s experience with the tsunami and her recovery.

The story is told by Deraniyagala as she looks back on her experiences and her memories. The narrative tense transitions from past to present as Deraniyagala recalls her family. It is almost representative of the way that Deraniyagala struggles to comprehend that her family is really gone and that they are really in the past. Some of the memories she has of her family are told in the present tense “We are still...