Although Emily opens her narration describing herself as a confident, successful recruiter for a consulting agency, with great friends and close relationships with her family, she also has a tumultuous past. Her former experiences influence how Emily views and responds to the novel’s various conflicts. Emily navigated several years of confusion about her career, allowing her friends, especially Pippa, to influence her more than she would like. She describes her past self as having “these half-baked ideas and rush[ing] off to start making them happen, but I was forever deluded by grandeur” (10). Emily is indecisive and lacks self-confidence, not only with her former work experience but also when facing power struggles with Pammie and relationship complications with Adam. Emily doubts herself on multiple occasions when Adam attempts to alter her version of reality. At the same time, she makes excuses for others while wanting to hold herself to higher standards.

Emily’s past experiences with betrayal shape her into a loyal and considerate friend, sister, and daughter. Knowing the pain of heartbreak firsthand instills empathy in Emily. However, Emily admits her morals slip when she responds to Pammie’s manipulation: “Of all the terrible things she’d done, I would not allow her to change the very foundation of me: to distort the values and morals my parents had worked so hard to instill” (201).