When We Believed in Mermaids: A Novel

Content Warning: The source material for this guide includes descriptions of alcohol/drug addiction and recovery, the sexual assault of a child, suicidal ideation, abortion, and parental neglect.

The childhood trauma that affects both Kit and Josie/Mari in the story often stems from their neglectful parents but also stems from tragic world events both were exposed to in their adolescence. The earthquake that kills their father and destroys their home, and the bombing that affects Josie and, by extension, her family, are just two of the major events that have had a hand in shaping the personalities of the girls. Lacking the stable foundation with their mother prior to these events and throughout their healing has also played a part in their lingering childhood trauma while also being a direct cause.

Kit begins her description of her childhood by stating that “it’s hard to be the children of parents who are obsessed with each other” (4). She calls her father “a massive personality” and her mother as “a charming coquette” (3). These descriptions set up a picture of two people who were deeply in love with each other to the point of exclusion. Kit’s parents struggle to make time to be parental.