Content Notes

The Backup Plan

Avery's older brother died at age twenty in a boating accident. She explains to Cameron that he died of hypothermia after an attempt to save an injured jet-skier left him stranded in the water. This incident is discussed at length in several places throughout the book and forms tension between Avery and Justin.

​

Cameron's twin brother died of SIDS when they were less than one year old. This is mentioned during conversations with Avery (Ch. 14, 17, and 31) and SIDS is mentioned only once (Ch. 17). The discussions center on Cam and Avery comparing the losses of brothers they knew versus brothers they didn't. There is no mention or depiction of finding the baby, mourning, etc.

​

Justin sustains a violent leg injury during a football game. Both his tibia and fibula are broken and he has surgery to repair the injury.

The Rough Draft

Hayden is shown on-page attempting to drug a girl's drink (Ch. 19). It is revealed he has done it before and been caught. He is unsuccessful after Caleb and friends intervene and their efforts lead to Hayden's arrest.

​

Reference is made to an incident in high school when Caleb's brother hit his girlfriend, and is used to center Caleb's adolescent trauma and the ways his family did and did not help his brother turn his life around (Ch. 20, 21, 23). The incident is not excused or minimized as acceptable or "just a mistake." It is the root of all the tension and trauma between Caleb, his brothers, and their father. Caleb explains that his brother felt suicidal after the incident.

​

Shannon digs through Hayden's past and uncovers an incident where he may have deliberately cased a car accident to injure his pregnant girlfriend years ago (Ch. 24). Delilah survives the accident but suffers a miscarriage. The accident is not depicted on-page, but is the subject of Shannon's revenge and Delilah's ongoing lawsuit, which Hayden is trying to hide.

​

Caleb donates a kidney to his father and both have successful surgery in Ch. 23.

​

Oblique reference is made to Hayden having shared  a video of two female students (Ch. 31, 32). No details are given about what was in the video, only that he shared it and the students involved did not consent to it being shared.

The Fields Defense

The book centers around a murder that occurs by strangulation. The murder does not occur on-page. The body is found on-page (Ch. 4), and bruising on the neck is described.

​

In multiple places, reference is made to domestic violence incidents perpetrated by Luke. The only on-page incident is the day he pushes Liberty after fighting with Eli (Ch. 18) and she delivers baby Asher prematurely after a placental abruption sustained from the fall. All other references to his domestic violence are vague ("he hurt her") and do not include details of injury, seriousness, etc. In Ch. 22, Liberty says the incident in Ch. 18 was the last time.

​

During her interview with the police (Ch. 22), Liberty says "it was nothing" in regards to her husband's violence. This was a deliberate, strategic lie on her part to shift the focus of the investigation. Several times in Part Three, she makes similar remarks. She knows it was not "nothing," but has her own plans for making him pay for his actions and wants to keep the focus on the murder. This is revealed in Ch. 29 when she arranges the plea bargain that sends him to prison for domestic assault.

Violence shown on-page between Luke and the wedding guest who attempted to drug Courtney's drink (Ch. 10), Luke and Eli (Ch.18), and Luke putting his fist through the wall (Ch. 15) includes blood and references to uncontrolled temper.

​

Violence is described during Eli's recounting of Luke's assault on his girlfriend in high school (Ch. 26). Eli describes blood on Luke's hands and Cassidy's face, and says he lost his temper and hit her.

​

Liberty refers several times without details to the abuse she saw her mother suffer from her father, and describes (Ch. 16)  how she lost her temper and killed her father. Her mother then committed suicide to take the blame for her husband's death, preserving Liberty's chances as a better future.

​

Abraham Fields dies of a hemorrhagic stroke in Ch. 14.

The Fields Reflection

The book centers around a mentally ill man's incarceration for domestic violence and his family's attempts to help him win parole. He is diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder and his struggles and successes with the treatment are frequent throughout the novel.

​

Liberty's history as a DV survivor is mentioned in Ch. 12 and 17.  Nothing DV-related happens on page or is described in detail.

​

Cassidy confronts Luke about a violent incident in their past that he always blamed himself for. She forgives him but also seeks his forgiveness for an earlier fight that she thinks led up to the violent one. Luke accepts culpability for all of it and Cassidy eases her conscience about lingering fears she caused the incident. They part on good terms.

​

A near-fatal car accident happens in Ch. 36 with clinical injury descriptions.

​

Ch. 38 is all the family trauma and includes mention of suicidal ideation.