Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in It Ends with Us, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Cycles of Abuse
Naked Truths
Good and Evil
Chosen Family
Summary
Analysis
Two days after seeing Ryle, Lily decides she can no longer keep the pregnancy from her mom. Lily texts her and asks if she can visit the next day. She also asks if she can make lasagna. Lily receives a text, but it’s from Allysa instead of her mother. Allysa invites Lily to dinner, promising that Ryle won’t be there. Lily agrees. After they eat, Lily asks Marshall and Allysa questions about raising Rylee. She knows she’ll need to learn more before the baby comes. Lily offers to watch Rylee for them, and they immediately accept.
Lily’s urgency to talk to her mother and the nature of her questions for Marshall and Allysa show that she is ready to embrace this new responsibility fully. Prior to her confrontation with Ryle, she had been in a liminal state that hardly felt real. Now that Ryle knows and the time for her to make her decision is approaching, she knows she must start thinking concretely about the future.
Themes
Marshall gives Rylee a bottle while Lily and Allysa talk. Lily is shocked at how many things Allysa packs for Rylee’s sleepover with her. As Allysa fills the diaper bag, Lily feels her baby kick for the first time. Allysa puts her hand on Lily’s belly but can’t feel anything yet. Lily feels a wave of sadness that Ryle isn’t here. Allysa, noticing Lily’s sorrow, tells her that even though things aren’t the way they thought they’d be, becoming a mother is going to be the best thing Lily has ever experienced. She promises her that she’ll do an amazing job.
Just as Lily feels she’s beginning to adjust to the idea of life without Ryle, her composure breaks once more. Often in mourning, big milestones disrupt people’s ability to manage daily grief; for Lily, the baby’s kick is one such milestone. The way Allysa steps in to help Lily through this swell of heartache shows how vital support systems can be in navigating grief and surviving abuse.
Themes
