Where She Went

Before the events of this novel, Mia was in a car accident that killed her parents and her little brother, Teddy. When she comes out of the resulting coma, she finds that she has been accepted to Juilliard. However, it is now difficult for her to play her cello. Her personality has also been altered slightly, and she has to learn how to be “herself” again. When she leaves for New York, she promises Adam that they will stay in touch and that they will always be a couple. But she soon breaks off contact without telling him why. Three years pass before they talk again, but they eventually reconcile. Mia hated Adam because, while in her coma, he begged her to stay. He promised that he would let her leave him, if only she stayed alive in this world. Every day since was a reminder that he hadn’t just let her go, and now she is constantly confronted with the knowledge that she was left behind. Her music is her salvation, but it is not enough to resolve the way she ended her relationship with Adam. 

Mia’s parents and her brother Teddy died in the car accident that put Mia in a coma. They appear in flashbacks but primarily serve as the backdrop for all of Mia’s pain. They were her greatest support and her strongest bond, apart from Adam. They are a reminder of what she has lost and a symbol of grief, forgiveness, and a willingness to continue living in the aftermath of tragedy. Adam loved them as well, and the feeling was mutual.