All Adults Here

Porter Strick is Astrid’s daughter. In her thirties, Porter has long wanted to be a mother, but her relationships have never worked out. Porter always thought there’d be time to find a husband and raise a family the old-fashioned way, but she ultimately accepts that if she wants to be a mother, she must do it on her own.

Porter uses a sperm bank and goes through IVF. She’s nervous to tell people about her pregnancy because she fears that her family will judge her or disapprove of the decision. Ultimately, Porter discovers that her family is unconditionally supportive of her, embodying the theme of The Power of Family Support. But they all know how difficult parenthood is and worry about her doing it on her own. This is especially true with Astrid, who was raised in a period when mothers didn’t have a lot of options to live an autonomous life. Porter’s radical independence demonstrates a symbolic generational difference between Porter and Astrid. In Straub’s contemporary setting, Porter is indicative of the freedom and proactiveness that characterizes the lives of American women. Porter is untraditional in a lot of ways, not just with her choice to be a single mother: She manages a goat dairy farm all on her own, and she lives in her hometown even though most of her friends are in big cities or farther away even than New York.

Porter has a second chance at genuine friendship when her former high school friend Rachel comes back into her life. Rachel is a foil to Porter: she is also a single mother, but not willingly, as she left her husband when she discovered he was cheating on her. Porter, meanwhile, renews her affair with her high school boyfriend Jeremy, who is married with children; this puts her in the position of “the other woman,” recreating the exact reason Rachel’s marriage fell apart.

Porter vacillates between believing her relationship with Jeremy is true love and understanding that he’ll never leave his wife for her. She tends to live in the past and repeat the same mistakes, such as ruining her friendship with Rachel for Jeremy just like she did in high school. Porter acts recklessly with Jeremy, a final act of self-destruction before the responsibility of motherhood changes her life forever. Eventually, however, Porter breaks things off with Jeremy, with the guidance of Rachel and Astrid. Porter commits to her New Beginnings as a strong, single mother and relies on the support of her family and friends.

Elliot Strick is Astrid’s oldest son. He is married with twin toddlers and lives in Clapham, his hometown. Elliot owns a successful construction business. He has recently bought a building located in the center of town, an excellent location for a business. But this building is a symbol of Elliot’s internal conflict. He is torn between renting the building out to a high-paying corporation, or renting it out to a small, local business, the sort that Clapham prides itself on. This struggle symbolizes Elliot’s conflicting feelings about his mother: he wants to prove to her that he is capable of huge successes, as he still carries resentment from overhearing her doubting his capabilities years ago. At the same time, he also still respects her and her love for Clapham.

Elliot also struggles with embracing his true self because of Astrid. Though he claims he is unbothered by the time Astrid urged him to keep his exploration of sexuality private, it is clear from his views and lifestyle that he has fully embraced the rigid gender roles with which he was raised. Elliot takes his life very seriously: He is easily stressed by his young family, even though he lives a life that checks every box on a list of societal norms. He is judgmental of his mother’s relationship with Birdie, and moody about how unfulfilling his life feels.

With the support of his wife and his siblings, Elliot slowly learns to open up. He finally acknowledges Astrid’s attempts to reach out and forgives his mother for her past mistakes. He also learns to be more vulnerable with his wife and, by the end of the novel, works to support his family as they strive to support him.

Nicky Strick is Astrid’s youngest son. He lives in Brooklyn with his French wife Juliette, a dancer. Even though they don’t live far from Clapham, he rarely visits his hometown.

Nicky is the “outcast” of the family because he doesn’t live in Clapham and he takes a spiritual, somewhat Buddhist approach to life. Nicky was the star of a popular high school movie when he was still in high school, but he turned his back on fame when his father died. Without his father to bear witness, Nicky was uninterested in acting or in fame. He left Clapham for New York and embraced a passivist lifestyle. Nicky remembers reaching out to Astrid once, when he found himself in an uncomfortable sexual situation, but Astrid did nothing to help him. Nicky is, thus, determined to raise his daughter, Cecelia, differently than Astrid raised him.

Despite this, when Cecelia gets bullied at school, Nicky sends her away to Astrid rather than stand up for her against the other parents and school administrators. Although he wanted to give Cecelia a chance at New Beginnings, the lack of familial support has a strong, negative effect on both father and daughter. Nicky believes he was doing the right thing, but he feels guilty for sending Cecelia away and misses her while they’re apart.

Nicky eventually returns to Clapham to reunite with his daughter, demonstrating solidarity and The Power of Family Support. Nicky’s return is crucial because he is the missing piece of the Strick family puzzle. With Nicky back in Clapham, the family is complete, and the story can move forward toward the culmination of its major themes.

Cecelia Strick is Nicky’s daughter and Astrid’s granddaughter. At only 13 years old, she is sent away from her home in Brooklyn to live with Astrid in Clapham. Cecelia is fleeing from significant social stress: Her best friend in Brooklyn, Katherine, started an inappropriate relationship with an adult, so Cecelia told adults to protect her. Katherine twisted the story to make it seem that Cecelia was also involved with this man, spreading rumors and gossip and ruining Cecelia’s social life. Nicky and Juliette hope that transferring to the school in Clapham will give Cecelia a new chance. But Cecelia, though she loves her grandmother and sees emotional value in Clapham, feels betrayed and abandoned by her parents.

Cecelia has learned the hard way how to be authentic. In her new school, she makes a friend in Robin (as August) and lets the rumors about herself go without a reaction. Cecelia is determined to make Clapham her fresh start—she is confident in her ability to do the right thing and be a good person who is loyal and true to herself. When Robin reveals that she is a transgender girl, Cecelia not only supports her, she also asks Robin clearly how she wants to be addressed and respects Robin’s request to remain temporarily closeted in public. Cecelia punches a school bully in the face for Robin’s sake, emphasizing her moral fortitude and her loyalty. She represents New Beginnings not only in the literal sense of moving to Clapham and starting anew, but in the metaphorical sense, through her love, acceptance, and open mind. Cecelia represents the new generation, raised not with emotional distance and high expectations as Astrid’s children were, but with warmth, communication, and encouragement.

Cecelia’s storyline embodies the theme of The Power of Family Support because her family—and friends of her family—come together to support her, a vastly different reaction to her first attempt at protecting a friend. When Cecelia’s parents return to Clapham to reunite with her, she is moved by their regret and love for her. Cecelia is fulfilled by her parents’ love. This narrative thread highlights the importance of unconditional love and expression of support.

Robin is Cecelia’s friend in Clapham. She is a transgender girl struggling with loneliness in junior high school. Robin’s story represents the theme of Embracing Your True Self.

Robin was assigned male at birth and given the name August, though she has long wondered about her sexuality and gender identity. She escapes to camp every summer, where the kids are inclusive and friendly. Robin’s parents support her, but they also understand the risks of being a publicly transgender individual, and they allow Robin to explore her identity at her own pace. But at school, Robin is an outcast who feels she must remain closeted and present herself as a boy. The other kids suspect that Robin is gay, but they don’t have a clue about Robin until the school bully Sidney hears about it from her own camp friend. Sidney tries to use this information to bully Robin, but she’s unsuccessful because Cecelia, who quietly tolerated Sidney’s bullying herself, punches her.

Robin finds a true friend in Cecelia. They are each other’s unconditional support system. With Cecelia’s support and encouragement, Robin reveals her true self publicly at the town’s annual Harvest Festival, a triumphant moment of character and societal development. Robin is celebrated for her identity, and her parents cry with joy because she has finally come out as the person she truly is. Her classmates embrace her, and their acceptance implies that Robin will begin a new chapter of life in which she lives freely and openly, in line with the theme of New Beginnings. Robin’s story expresses Straub’s message that it’s important to live authentically and honestly, even if there is certain risk involved in self-autonomy.