Full Measures

Full Measures explores how profound grief can disable a parent, compelling a child to assume adult responsibilities. This premature burden leads Ember to suppress her own emotional needs for her family’s sake, illustrating the unique pressures placed upon children in military families facing catastrophic loss. From the moment of her father’s death notification, Ember assumes a parental role because her mother, June, collapses on the stairs, unable to respond to the officers, and retreats into a state of shock. Ember manages the initial arrangements, finds her father’s binder outlining his final wishes, and informs her seven-year-old brother, Gus, that their father is never coming home. This immediate role reversal establishes a dynamic in which Ember’s grief becomes secondary to the functional needs of her family. The immense “weight of responsibility” (6) settles on her shoulders, dislodging her own pain so that she can ensure her family’s basic survival. She even makes a vow over her father’s coffin, “I will take care of them, I promise” (30).

Ember’s new role extends beyond logistics to managing her younger siblings’ destructive coping mechanisms, forcing her into the position of a disciplinarian. She discovers that her sister, April, has been skipping school and running up thousands of dollars in debt on their mother’s credit card.