Wintergirls

Lia Overbrook is an 18-year-old high school senior. Lia is an avid reader but receives average grades and doesn’t take an interest in extracurriculars. Lia suffers from anorexia where she limits her eating and over-exercising in secret at night. Lia’s eating disorder began in her preteens, and she has been hospitalized twice, spending time as an inpatient at a recovery clinic called New Seasons. Lia now lives with her father, stepmother, and stepsister.

At the beginning of the novel, Lia learns that her former best friend, Cassie, died over the weekend, alone in a motel room, after drinking alcohol, binge eating and purging. Over the course of the novel, Lia struggles to cope with her friend’s death, while her eating disorder simultaneously worsens. Lia also self-harms, has negative self-thoughts, and other mental health issues. These behaviors culminate in a suicide attempt. After her attempted suicide, Lia admits to her therapist, Dr. Parker, that she sees Cassie appearing to her even though Cassie is dead. By the end of the novel, Lia is re-admitted to New Seasons, but this time, she takes steps toward recovery. Dr. Parker observes, “‘Who cares if we call it a depression or a haunting? […] You haven’t cut yourself since you got here. You’re talking. You’re eating. You’re blooming. That’s all that matters” (276). Dr. Parker’s observation summarizes Lia’s struggles during the months following her friend’s death but shows that Lia is making progress toward recovery by the end of the novel.

Cassie Parrish, or Cassandra Jane Parrish, was Lia’s best friend from third grade through high school. Lia and Cassie became best friends when Cassie moved in across the street. However, Lia and Cassie had stopped talking in the months leading up to Cassie’s death. At the beginning of the novel, it is revealed that Cassie died alone in a motel room. Cassie spent two days drinking vodka and throwing up. These behaviors stemming from Cassie’s fight with bulimia, with years of bingeing and purging, led to her death. On the night of Cassie’s death, she called Lia’s cell phone several times, but Lia didn’t pick up. Throughout the novel, Lia imagines Cassie appearing to her and inviting her to join Cassie in death.

Cassie was a member of the school soccer team and drama club. Lia describes Cassie as brave, imaginative, and a little bit “melodramatic and over the top” (219). In middle school, Lia discovered Cassie making herself throw up during a Labor Day Party at Cassie’s parents’ house. Cassie explained she made herself throw up so that she wouldn’t get fat. Since then, Lia and Cassie both encouraged each other’s eating disorders, both wanting to stay thin. In middle school, on New Year’s Eve, Cassie suggested making an oath, explaining, “‘It’s midnight, it’s a magic time. Anything we swear tonight will come true’” (178). At that moment, Lia thought, “This was third-fourth-fifth-grade Cassie, the girl strong enough to punch boys and crazy enough to throw up in the roses. I would have followed her into a pit of fire” (178). That night, Lia and Cassie made an oath to be the skinniest girls in their school. This moment shows how much love Lia has for her best friend, Cassie’s daring and creative personality, and how much their eating disorders became so closely linked with their friendship.

David Overbrook is Lia’s father. Lia explains, “My father is a history professor, the Great and Powerful Expert about the American Revolution. He’s won a Pulitzer, a National Book Award, and a job consulting on a table news show. The White House invites him for dinner so often that he owns a tuxedo” (34). Lia’s father teaches at a university and Lia is expected to attend college at that same university when she graduates high school. When Lia was in middle school, her parents divorced. Lia’s father had been having affairs and had a series of girlfriends. Not long after, Lia’s father married Jennifer and moved in with Jennifer and her daughter, Emma. At the beginning of the novel, Lia has decided to move in with her father, Jennifer, and Emma, and has been living with them for a few months.

Lia feels as though her father doesn’t really know her. When Lia’s father returns from a business trip in New York, he brings gifts for Lia and Emma. Lia describes, “I empty the bag. I’m guessing that the magic wand filled with sparkles is for Emma, which means the books are for me: all stories about the agony of middle school, written for twelve-year-olds” (208). Lia is a high school senior and an avid reader of fantasy novels; her father’s gifts implies that he doesn’t really know Lia’s interests. Later, Lia accuses her father of never following through on his promises to her, such as plans for weekend trips together, and of always being gone, leaving Jennifer to do all the work at home. In addition, throughout the novel, Lia’s father continues to tell Jennifer and Chloe that Lia is doing fine, because he is unable to see that her eating disorder is worsening. Lia and her father struggle to connect and Lia feels as though he doesn’t make a strong effort to get to know her.

Dr. Chloe Marrigan is Lia’s mother. Chloe is a cardiologist. After being released from the hospital New Seasons, Lia made the choice to live with her father and stepmother instead of her mother. Lia’s mother wants Lia to come back and live with her. Lia explains that conversations with her mother always end in fights. Lia has had a difficult relationship with her mother since she was young. Lia remembers, when she was young, “my mother fed me her glass dreams one spoonful at a time. Harvard. Yale. Princeton. Duke. Undergrad. Med school. Internship, residency, God” (17). Lia remembers, “Dr. Marrigan was furious when the guidance counselor kicked me out of Honors and dropped me down to College Track” (17).

Ever since she was young, Lia’s mother put a lot of pressure on her to succeed. After Lia was admitted and then released from New Seasons, the hospital for eating disorder treatment, Lia’s mother became very controlling about Lia’s recovery plan, wanting to be involved as a doctor rather than a mother. Ever since then, Lia has found it difficult to stay at her mother’s house. However, by the end of the novel, when Lia is back in the hospital and making progress toward her recovery, Lia notes, “Mom and Dad and Jennifer visit. We talk and talk until the dams burst and the tears flow with a little blood, because we’re all angry. But nobody storms out of our sessions. Nobody uses nasty names” (275). By the end of the novel, Lia’s parents are making progress toward offering Lia the support she needs.

Jennifer is Lia’s stepmother. Jennifer has a daughter, Emma. Jennifer keeps Emma involved in a lot of extracurriculars. Jennifer is also responsible for weighing Lia each week to make sure Lia is maintaining a healthy weight and encourages Lia to eat. After Lia’s suicide attempt, Jennifer tells Lia, “When I married your father, I swore to love you like you were my own” (241). However, Jennifer is angry at Lia because Emma had to be the one to find Lia’s body, covered in blood. Jennifer says, “you hurt my little girl […] You hurt her by starving yourself, you hurt her with your lies, and by fighting everybody who tries to help you. Emma can only sleep a couple hours a night now” (241). Jennifer loves Lia and wants to help Lia get better but is also angry at Lia for how her behavior has affected Emma. However, by the end of the novel, when Lia is making progress at the hospital, Jennifer participates in family therapy and eventually allows Emma to visit.

Emma is Jennifer’s daughter and Lia’s stepsister. Emma is in third grade. Jennifer keeps Emma involved in several extracurriculars, including violin, French, soccer, and basketball. Lia loves Emma, and Emma provides Lia with the only real peaceful and child-like interactions in the novel. Lia watches movies with Emma in Emma’s bed and bakes treats for Emma’s school bake sale. When Emma finds Lia after her suicide attempt, Lia feels extremely guilty. Lia struggles to connect with her father, mother, and stepmother, but wants to have a strong relationship with Emma.

Elijah lives in room 115 of the Gateway Motel, where Cassie’s body was found dead in room 113. Elijah is a few years older than Lia, with thick black hair, black-rimmed glasses, and pale skin. He wears baggy clothes and has a plug in his earlobe. Elijah calls Lia a few days after Cassie’s death, because he says Cassie gave him Lia’s number and asked him to deliver a message. Lia meets Elijah at the motel, and then again at Cassie’s wake. Lia convinces Elijah to come with her to Cassie’s funeral. Elijah tells Lia he is making plans to leave town and go on a road trip around the holidays. Toward the end of the novel, Lia goes to the motel once again and asks Elijah to take her with him on his road trip. However, Elijah disappears while Lia is sleeping.

Elijah provides a place for Lia to escape to and an objective view of Cassie’s death that Lia does not receive elsewhere. He convinces Lia to work through a breathing exercise the night they meet and encourages her to confront her visions, inspiring Lia to come clean to her therapist about her hallucinations of Cassie. Elijah is also the only character who doesn’t know of Lia’s struggles with her mental health until she reveals them to him of her own accord. Due to his objective voice, and lack of relationship with Lia, he serves as a voice of reason outside of Lia’s internal dialogue and interactions with doctors, therapists, and her parents.