In Rewind It Back, Tomforde portrays young-adult caregiving as an all-consuming role that exacts an immense and often invisible toll. The novel argues that for a young person like Hallie, caring for a parent with a chronic illness requires deep sacrifices that are deliberately hidden from the world and even from the person being cared for. These concealed burdens manifest as destructive financial debt, stalled professional ambitions, and a deep social isolation that separates the caregiver from her peers. The narrative reveals that the true weight of caregiving lies not just in the responsibilities themselves but in the secrecy required to bear them alone.

The most significant and private toll that Hallie endures is financial. To fund her father’s participation in a clinical trial for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, she secretly takes out massive loans, a fact she hides from him to prevent his guilt. She tells Rio, “[H]e wouldn’t have done the trial if he knew that, and I needed him to get better. So, I told him everything was covered” (293). This debt dictates her entire existence in Chicago. She works a full-time design internship during the day and a secret second job as a bartender at night, admitting to Rio that this is what she must do just “to make ends meet” (124). Her financial precarity is so severe that she puts off buying groceries. Her desperation to land the full-time design position is driven by the need for a stable salary to escape this cycle of debt, showing how the financial consequences of caregiving long outlast the active care itself.

Beyond the financial strain, Hallie’s professional and educational development is significantly delayed. To become her father’s full-time caregiver, she has to drop out of her traditional design-school program. She ultimately finishes her degree through online night courses, a more arduous path that places her in an internship at age 25, years behind where her career might otherwise be. Even after moving to Chicago to pursue her dream, the lingering demands of her financial situation continue to create professional obstacles. Initially, her grueling work schedule makes her hesitant to take on Rio’s house renovation, the very project that could secure her future at the firm. This illustrates how the effects of caregiving ripple outward, creating persistent barriers to personal and professional growth.

The constant pressure of work and debt isolates Hallie from her peers, leaving her with little time or energy for a social life. When she first moves in with Wren, she acknowledges that living with a roommate will likely feel like living alone due to her demanding schedule. She’s too exhausted and preoccupied to date, viewing a potential evening out as time better spent catching up on sleep. This isolation is compounded by the secrecy she maintains around her struggles. Her family, coworkers, and even her new friends are unaware of her second job or the extent of her loans. This creates a painful disconnect between her outward life and her inner reality, making her journey a deeply lonely one until she confides in Rio. Ultimately, the novel presents caregiving as a complex burden whose heaviest toll is the invisibility of the struggle. Through Hallie’s struggles, Tomforde brings attention to the many sacrifices that caregivers make and calls for greater support on their behalf.