The Rest of Her Life, Week 3-Post B

After reading this section of the book, I have begun to understand better what the characters are going through. Each and every character, Justin, Kara, Gary, and especially Leigh are going through very tough times, but are dealing with it different ways, and reacting to it differently.

The book, The Rest of Her Life is narrated by Leigh, Kara’s mother, so I mostly understand what Leigh is going through rather than Kara who it actually happened too. I think this is an interesting way to write a book, because you see that not just the one person it happened to is affected by an incident, but the whole family, and even the whole community is. Leigh seems very sensitive to both Bethany Cleese’s mother, who she barely knows, and to her daughter Kara. I think this really shows that Leigh is not selfish. Most mothers might only worry about what has happened to their loved one, while Leigh also worries about what her daughter has done. I also think her mother might believe Kara was driving recklessly and it seems as if she has never had that much trust in her. For example, when she is talking to Eva, “Leigh nodded, through really, it wasn’t as if Kara’s graduation was some long held dream. Leigh had written ‘I’m so proud of you!’ on the card she bought to give Kara with earrings, and just writing those words had felt a little fake.” (pg. 87). Even though Leigh thinks this, it also seems she is still trying to connect with and console Kara. If I was Leigh I would have trust in Kara. It seems that Kara truly is sorry for what she did and she wants to fix it.

Lastly I am happy that from what the lawyer said, the punishment for what Kara did is not anything major. This is good for Kara and the entire family, especially Leigh. I am anxious to see how the trial plays out, and how Bethany Cleese’s mother will act towards Kara and the family. I predict she will be sad, but not mad at all.