Dreamland

Content Warning: This section includes discussion of domestic violence and mental illness.

The novel explores the interconnection of love and in each of Colby’s relationships—with Morgan, with his family, and with his music. At two important points in the novel, Colby recalls his sister telling him that “love and pain [are] two sides of the same coin” (216). The novel does not attempt to resolve the interdependence of love and pain but acknowledges it as an inevitability to which Colby must reconcile himself to live a fulfilling and meaningful life.

Much of Colby’s character arc involves coming to terms with the fact that in protecting himself from pain, he is also denying himself the full experience of love. At the beginning of the novel, Colby claims that he does not “think about whether [he is] missing out on something bigger or better or whatever” but “take[s] things as they come and [tries] not to expect or regret too much” (6). He admits that he dreamt of being "discovered" as a musician, but the demands of his family—Paige’s illness and his uncle’s unexpected death—took priority over his professional aspirations. Even before his uncle’s death, the farm was struggling. After his death, his aunt needed Colby’s help to lift the farm out of its economic struggles.