Something Like Home

Laura’s aunt functions as a mentor, guardian, and catalyst for both conflict and healing. She’s organized, intelligent, and protective, but her type-A personality creates friction with Laura, who resists her rules and routines. Silvia enjoys order, as evident by keeping her house clean, many rules, and washing her hair on certain days. Unlike Laura’s disorderly lifestyle before, Silvia’s home is run by schedules and routines. Since she’s new to parenting and does not have her own children, she doesn’t understand that kids cannot be controlled, unlike her schedule. Thus, she finds much of Laura’s behavior unacceptable—though she doesn’t realize her rules are foreign to Laura. The two poems “Things I’ve Already Done That Are ‘Not Okay’ According to Titi Silvia” and “Things Titi Silvia Has Already Done That Are ‘Not Okay’ (She’s Not My Mom)” are notable examples of Silvia and Laura’s disconnect. By comparing and contrasting their perspectives and grievances, the poems show their conflict. Despite this, Silvia does her best to provide for Laura, ensuring she has food, clothes, and safety. Over time, Silvia learns to be more flexible, compromising on her expectations and learning to understand Laura’s emotional needs.

Silvia’s growth parallels Laura’s, as she learns to communicate better and be more compassionate. Although Silvia isn’t overly emotive or loving, she later reveals her softer side and adapts to Laura’s needs and desires. For example, she gives Laura advice about Benson to develop empathy:

And she nods and says softly:

If I were Benson,

and I liked spending time with you,

that definitely would have made me upset (144).

Although Silvia takes the brunt of Laura’s anger and “causes” conflicts, she influences healing too. Most significantly, Silvia’s insistence on therapy helps Laura confront her trauma and understand her identity. Because of therapy, the two learn to respect and love each other like a family. Without Silvia’s guidance and therapy insistence, Laura could have been lost, either in foster care or consumed by her trauma and PTSD. Silvia is a necessary guardian and mentor for Laura, one who improves herself as a more open, flexible, and loving parent by the conclusion.

Laura’s puppy functions as an essential support character for Laura to recover from trauma and as an inspiration for her to move forward. Sparrow serves as a source of unconditional love and joy. He also represents the theme of The Healing Power of Animals. He’s kind, playful, silly, smart, forgiving, and loving. When readers first meet Sparrow, he’s in danger, and Laura acts as his hero. Without Laura’s intervention, Sparrow may have died. Although the situation triggers Laura’s trauma finding her parents unconscious, Sparrow is not a cause of stress. Instead, he’s a reliable source of joy and love. He makes Laura laugh, comforts her when she’s sad, and forgives her for mistreatment:

[M]y eyes start to water immediately,

because how is it possible that

he wants to sleep near me

even after I messed up,

and treated him like I did? (177).

Sparrow is shown licking Laura, cuddling up to her, being friendly with everyone he meets, and making Benson happy in the hospital. Sparrow is devoted to Laura and will never harm her, only acting as her eternal best friend who supports her, protects her, and loves her no matter what. All these scenes display the dog’s caring, affectionate nature.

Sparrow becoming a therapy dog also serves as a plot motivator and tool for healing. With Sparrow, Laura can visit her parents in rehab. Since he’s naturally friendly and smart, Sparrow excels in many areas of the therapy dog exam. He must work hard at others, such as the separation task, which reflects Laura’s obstacles:

[L]eaving him with Benson and walking away,

but Sparrow lets out the kind of howl

that I feel deep in my belly, […]

and I think maybe this is a skill

we both need some practice with,

this watching people say goodbye

and believing in them enough

to calmly stay (215).

Like Laura, Sparrow must learn trust, patience, and faith. By the end, Sparrow doesn’t howl or move; he has grown to accept that his loved one may leave, but she will return. Sparrow’s successful training inspires Laura to follow these principles with her parents and proves his bond is crucial to her recovery.

Benson serves as Laura’s friend and mentor. He’s persistent, upbeat, resilient, accepting, and insightful. From his first introduction, Benson is compassionate and bubbly; he asks Laura about her day with interest, always smiling. Since he’s persistent, he inspires Laura to take a chance on friendship. Laura doesn’t realize it, but Benson’s friendship is a necessary part of her transition. Whenever Laura has a problem, Benson listens attentively to her and never judges; his emotional support is crucial for her to be vulnerable and heal. Despite his struggles with sickle cell disease, Benson also offers Laura wise, mature advice that validates her feelings, such as how her situation “sounds really hard” and “he can’t imagine starting over like that” but knows she will get through it (109). He also teaches her to become a loyal friend and to value every moment instead of fixating on the “temporary.” Because of his serious sickle cell disease, Benson has a mature perspective on life, offering his wise insight and inspiring Laura to change for the better.

Further, Benson’s support is pivotal to training Sparrow, as he’s experienced in therapy dog training and shares his knowledge. He provides Laura with resources, like videos and encouragement. When Laura is emotionally overwhelmed by her parents’ leaving rehab, she wants to give up, but Benson convinces her that therapy dog work is still meaningful: 

I don’t know what’s gonna happen 

with your parents, 

but if you like training Sparrow, 

if it makes you happy just for you,

then go for it, 

‘cause you’re gonna make 

a lot of other people happy, 

you’re making me happy, 

and that’s worth something too (217). 

Thanks to Benson, Laura takes this advice and continues healing through animal therapy. His unwavering friendship gives Laura the encouragement to stay motivated. He is a key character who ensures that Laura stays hopeful and that she and Sparrow accomplish the climactic goal of earning therapy dog certification.