“How Far She Went.” 

The title of both the book and the central story states the precise dilemma at the heart of each story in this collection. It is not just a reference to how far the grandmother goes to save the girl by killing her beloved dog. It also describes each character’s conflict—whether to accept living in the his or her current sadness, loss, alienation, and isolation or to accept how far one must go to escape these things.

“...Let us die in abstinence / Of one another, sigh gales, yet refuse / To speak the solving word which opens chaos...”

The Epigraph represents the central theme: resignation to a life without meaning versus a rejection of suffering by seizing control, whatever the cost. Ultimately, the characters who seize control of their circumstances end up opening the door to chaos. This irony stems from their resignation that they have no choice but to act, thus rendering themselves to the same fate of victimhood.

“Lonesome Road Blues.” 

The opening story’s title, “Lonesome Road Blues,” is a recurring theme for this collection. The reference to loneliness is decidedly vague. At first glance, the title refers to the solitary life of the blues traveler in the story, but it is not life on the road that brings loneliness. Loneliness is the road the characters travel, with or without a spouse or family beside them.