### Chap­ter Sum­ma­ry: Eight: Nor­ma

Mar­riage often seems like a whim­si­cal com­mit­ment, where two peo­ple bind their lives togeth­er, hop­ing their con­nec­tion will endure. Nor­ma reflects on this notion, con­fess­ing her envy towards those who find deep ful­fill­ment in mar­riage. Despite her ini­tial will­ing­ness to believe in love with Mark, the emer­gence of her past trau­mas strains their rela­tion­ship. They wed in a small cer­e­mo­ny in Aunt June’s back­yard in August 1983, seek­ing jobs and hap­pi­ness togeth­er. After strug­gling to find work and ulti­mate­ly land­ing a teach­ing job in Maine, the cou­ple set­tles into a rou­tine filled with qui­et domes­tic life. Although Norma’s moth­er encour­ages her to engage with their church com­mu­ni­ty, Nor­ma feels detached.

The chap­ter piv­ots as Nor­ma announces her preg­nan­cy to her moth­er, who reacts with joy. How­ev­er, this excite­ment is con­trast­ed by the sub­se­quent unease at a doctor’s appoint­ment when the doc­tor notes the lack of fetal move­ment. The ensu­ing med­ical exam­i­na­tion reveals the dev­as­tat­ing news: the preg­nan­cy is no longer viable. This news plunges Nor­ma into a painful emo­tion­al abyss, and despite the com­pas­sion­ate sup­port of Mark, she spi­rals into guilt and despair. The deliv­ery of their daugh­ter, whom they named Sarah, is marked by sub­dued anguish rather than joy, lead­ing to her even­tu­al funer­al and bur­ial.

In the weeks that fol­low, Nor­ma grap­ples with her grief and the silence that envelops her life. Despite efforts to con­front the tragedy, she feels an insur­mount­able heav­i­ness and with­draws from fam­i­ly and friends, seek­ing solace alone. A brief trip to Nova Sco­tia with Mark brings fleet­ing moments of joy, but the specter of their loss lingers. Dur­ing qui­eter moments, Nor­ma con­tem­plates her rela­tion­ship with Moth­er and the soon-to-be ghosts in her life, reveal­ing fears about the future.

The chap­ter cul­mi­nates in a pro­found inter­nal strug­gle as Nor­ma admits to Mark her reluc­tance to try again for chil­dren, assert­ing that the ghosts of her past and the fraught mem­o­ries of Sarah would cloud any future child. Ulti­mate­ly, this con­ver­sa­tion becomes a turn­ing point lead­ing to ten­sion in their mar­riage, mark­ing the end of an era filled with hope, leav­ing both char­ac­ters to nav­i­gate the com­plex­i­ties of their grief and the impli­ca­tions for their future togeth­er.