7. How does Echo’s attitude toward seeking help shift? How does asking for help make you stronger? In what ways does Echo change when she opens herself up to accept support from others?

8. “So much sorrow and despair, with roots that go all the way down to the bottom of time. A line, a matrix of generational pain. A legacy of suffering. Inescapable” (here). This passage is speaking to generational trauma, meaning the pain inflicted on Echo’s family in previous generations can have lasting impacts on current ones. View the outline here and discuss how the tragedies of those that came before Echo have manifested in Echo’s own life.

9. Echo’s story emphasizes the importance of growth and healing, whether through professional therapy or portal travel to alternate universes. How do these practices spark change within Echo, and what other examples of healing practices does she attempt throughout the book?

10. How would you define Echo’s character development throughout the story? Do you believe she has unlocked her fully authentic self?

A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

To First-Generation College Students:

Like you, I was bright-eyed and hopeful on the eve of my ascent to higher education. Few in my family graduated high school. Then I came along with dreams and ambition way up in the stars.

Dartmouth in all her Ivy League glory promised there was a place for someone like me regardless of my background. It didn’t matter that I had climbed up out of the dark underbelly of American society. In fact, it made me a more appealing candidate. Who was this girl that came from the shadows, where opportunity is scarce and potential is smothered by a succession of seemingly insurmountable obstacles?

There were those who believed in me all along, including the outstanding high school honors teachers who understood my gifts and spoke possibility into my fragile, uncertain mind. Their belief in me relieved some of the despair I felt growing up in poverty and convinced me I could rise above.

There were also nonbelievers and false prophets, like the college counselor who told me it was better to do well at a third- or fourth-tier school than risk flunking out of the Ivy League. He was certain I wouldn’t make it past my first quarter at Dartmouth. One of the biggest challenges first-generation students face is overcoming the false prophecies of nonbelievers. His was the loudest voice in my head, especially when I met a challenge I thought I couldn’t transcend.

And there was God. The creator. The infinite. The beginning and the end, as it says in the Bible. My eyes were watching. Waiting. Wondering if he/she/they was going to grant the miracle or not. If I was going to be a Chosen One. Those mythical Horatio Alger people who rise from the dust and conquer unimaginable circumstances because they have no other choice.

“Steady,” God would reply. “Forward. Many fields brimming with possibility lie ahead.”