One by One

Very early in the novel, grief manifests in Erin as she swims in the chalet pool and reflects on the sky, which matches the color of her late boyfriend’s eyes. It becomes abundantly clear that Erin has come to work at the chalet carrying her grief with her. She notes that one of the joys of the chalet is that “[y]ou get to have a fresh start” (14), which she manifests by being extremely private about her past. She has repressed her grief, and it most often emerges when she sleeps in the form of post-traumatic-stress-induced nightmares. This tight-lipped control is inevitably disrupted when Topher reveals Erin’s real identity, forcing her to relive the avalanche and open up about the experience. Confiding in Danny refreshes Erin’s grief, but it is not until she tells the fully story to Liz that she faces the entirety of her grief head-on. The confession that she was the one who suggested skiing off-piste is what causes her to reflect honestly on the tragedy. This reflection enables her to face her fears later that same night when she attempts to escape the murderous Liz by taking a dangerous off-piste trail to town.