Annie is a 37-year-old wife and mother of four who works at Green View nursing home. She gave up her early plans for nursing school to raise her family, creating a warm, predictable household that anchors her husband and children. She is deeply compassionate, fiercely protective of her best friend's sobriety, and serves as the undisputed emotional center of her family's world.

Ali is the 13-year-old eldest child and only daughter of the Brown family. Following her mother's death, she finds herself thrust into a premature caretaking role for her younger brothers and grieving father. She tries to suppress her own emotions while attempting to maintain the domestic routines her mother once managed, fearing she will only be known as the girl with the dead mother.

Bill is a local plumber and the suddenly widowed father of four children. Having relied almost entirely on his wife to manage their home and family life, he finds himself overwhelmed by domestic duties and the emotional needs of his children. He uses his plumbing work as an escape from the agonizing quiet of his house and keeps his wife's cell phone plugged in to maintain a connection to her.

Annemarie is a successful businesswoman who sells Mennonite artisanal goods and has been Annie's best friend since the first grade. She has a history of substance use disorder, having maintained her sobriety largely through Annie's tough-love accountability. Without her best friend, she faces intense grief and the constant temptation to relapse into pill misuse.

Dora is Bill's mother, who allows his family to live in her old home but still charges them rent and strictly forbids any physical modifications to the property. She is rigid, highly image-conscious, and frequently critical of her late daughter-in-law and grandchildren. She uses her financial leverage to exert control over her son's grieving family.

Ant is the oldest son in the Brown family, entering adolescence just as he loses his mother. Unable to articulate his sorrow verbally, he channels his confusion and pain into academic rebellion, physical fights, and stony silences. He desperately needs his father's attention but frequently pushes away attempts at comfort.

Kathy is Annie's sister, an accountant who steps in to handle the financial concerns surrounding the unexpected funeral. She maintains a tense distance from Dora while trying to support her grieving brother-in-law and her nieces and nephews.

Liz is a single, successful real estate agent who dated Bill in high school. She remains in the historic Greengrass neighborhood and reconnects with Bill when he takes a plumbing job at one of her listings, offering him an easy distraction from his grief.

Jenny is Ali's best friend, a girl who lives in a large, wealthy house with strict parents. She relies heavily on Ali's company but acts evasively about her own home life, frequently inventing excuses to avoid physical activities or changing clothes in front of others.

Miss Cruz is the middle school counselor who provides a safe, non-judgmental space for students to process trauma. She offers practical emotional guidance to the Brown children and straightforward advice to Bill about parenting through sorrow.

Benjy is the middle son of the Brown family. He struggles with reading at school and frequently fights with his older brother Ant as the household tension rises following their mother's death.

Jamie is the youngest Brown child. He is too young to fully comprehend the permanence of his mother's death and responds to the trauma through behavioral regression, such as wetting the bed.

Tom is Annemarie's stable, successful husband. He provides a calm presence in her life but remains largely unaware of the depths of her ongoing struggles with grief and temptation to use pills.

Miss Evelyn is one of the oldest residents at the nursing home where Annie worked. She holds fond memories of Annie's tender care and acts as an observant, wise presence at the facility.

Maude is a Mennonite woman who once sheltered Annemarie during a crisis. She creates artisanal goods that Annemarie resells and offers a peaceful refuge from the chaotic outside world.