The Flower Sisters

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death by suicide.

The local newspaper in Possum Flats is an important motif that takes on new layers of significance throughout the book. When Daisy Flowers secures an internship there, The Picayune allows her to discover the dance hall explosion and sets her on a retrospective journey that has repercussions for her own family and the rest of the town. By its very nature, the newspaper stands as a link to the past; its archives contain details of major events in the town’s history, even if its residents choose not to acknowledge key aspects of their past. Furthermore, because its archives contain decades of records, the newspaper connects the past and the present. Daisy’s retrospective series underscores this dynamic because she actively uses the newspaper’s archives to explore past events that no one wishes to address openly. The Picayune thus becomes a motif for The Enduring Impact of Past Tragedies as Daisy works to uncover stories that many residents would rather suppress and forget.

The newspaper’s role as a repository of memory also highlights The Traumatic Effects of Shame and Secrecy, and this dynamic becomes particularly prominent when Daisy faces blame and resistance due to her reporting efforts.