Opening
A bad day turns into the day that splits a life in two. Narrator Lina Emerson recounts the moment her mother reveals a man named Howard and, more devastatingly, an “after” Lina refuses to accept. The prologue sets the stage for grief, a mystery out of Florence, and a future in Italy that Lina does not want—but cannot avoid.
What Happens
Two weeks into her sophomore year, Lina—a dedicated cross-country runner—rides home from a doctor’s appointment with her mother, Hadley Emerson, in stunned silence. The morning’s second-place finish feels pointless now that they’ve learned Hadley’s cancer is inoperable and incurable. In the car, instead of crying or offering reassurances, Hadley shifts the air with a bright story from her study-abroad days in Florence: a friend named Howard Mercer once dared her to jump into a fountain on a sweltering day. She calls him “a lot of fun,” and Lina, bewildered by the timing, files the name away.
As months pass and Hadley’s health declines, she keeps returning to stories about Howard. Their purpose clicks into place in mid-November, as Lina sits beside her mother’s hospital bed. Hadley shares her dying wish: when she’s gone, she wants Lina to move to Italy and live with Howard. The request detonates the denial Lina has been clinging to. She pushes back—why should she move across the world to a stranger, and if Howard is so important, why has she never met him?
Hadley insists their history is “complicated,” but calls Howard “the best man” she’s ever known and promises he will keep Lina safe. A nurse breezes in with cheerful comments about how “romantic” Italy is, unintentionally bolstering Hadley’s resolve and undercutting Lina’s protests. The prologue closes with Lina’s present-day voice: she does go to Italy, and nothing prepares her for what she finds there.
Character Development
The prologue sketches a family cleaved by illness and introduces a relationship from the past that reshapes the future.
- Lina Emerson: A high school runner with a tight bond to her mother, she leans on denial to survive the unthinkable. Her fierce resistance to Italy reveals fear of both loss and change.
- Hadley Emerson: Facing death with stubborn clarity, she curates Lina’s future through a secret-tinged past. Her stories and unwavering plan hint at love, complication, and fierce maternal foresight.
- Howard Mercer: A name from Florence turned lifeline. Through Hadley’s anecdotes, he emerges as fun-loving yet dependable—the “best man” Hadley trusts to protect what matters most.
Themes & Symbols
The prologue launches Lina’s journey through Grief and Healing. Her reflection that life now divides into “before” and “after” marks the first shattering step into grief; her refusal to believe in an “after” embodies denial. The tone oscillates between devastation and Hadley’s buoyant Florence stories, suggesting how memory and joy can coexist with loss—and even guide recovery.
It also plants the engine of Secrets and Truth. Lina’s question—why she has never heard of Howard—frames a hidden history Hadley only hints at with “complicated.” The tension between what’s told and what’s withheld promises revelations that will reframe both the past in Florence and the future in Italy.
Finally, the prologue reframes The Nature of Family. Hadley entrusts Lina not to a blood relative but to a chosen person she believes will keep her safe. The choice sets up an exploration of found family—and what makes someone a true guardian.
Symbols:
- Italy: A double-edged place—Hadley’s vibrant, sunlit past and Lina’s unwanted future, the proof that the “after” is real.
Key Quotes
“This is the day that changes everything, I thought. From here on out there will only be before and after today.”
This line draws a boundary across Lina’s life, transforming a single afternoon into an origin point for grief and growth. It frames every step she takes in Italy as part of the “after,” turning the prologue into the hinge on which the entire story swings.
Why This Matters and Section Significance
The prologue delivers the novel’s inciting incident—Hadley’s terminal diagnosis and her dying wish—that forces Lina from the familiar into the unknown. By introducing Howard and the Florence past, it seeds the central mystery that propels the plot while establishing Lina’s candid, wry voice. The section promises a journey through loss toward connection, with Italy as both setting and test.
Craft notes that heighten impact:
- Direct address builds instant intimacy between Lina and the reader.
- Foreshadowing confirms Lina’s eventual move while teasing discoveries ahead.
- Juxtaposition pairs terminal news with a playful fountain story, capturing the surreal texture of real grief and steering us toward the secret at the story’s heart.