Burden and James named their property on Martha’s Vineyard “Meadowpath.” James discovered that this was “the Indigenous name for [the] land” during “the closing process” and erected a sign with the name on their front gate (86). The estate came to represent their idyllic family life. They spent summers and holidays here, building a community on the island. The house’s dreamy name aligned with what Burden thought she and James “had built together—home, family, security, love” (86).

Burden found it difficult to remain at Meadowpath after James left her, which she was forced to do because of the restrictions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. The house was both a constant reminder of everything she had lost and an unfamiliar realm haunted by James’s betrayal.

After Burden and James finalized their divorce, Burden made alterations to the property that helped her recontextualize how she saw the house. Most notably, she “pounded the [Meadowpath] sign off” the gate using a hammer (210); by doing this herself, Burden directly countered James putting up the sign earlier. The renaming represented her letting go of the dreams she had for her future with James. Instead, she hung new signs: “one with [her] last name and one with the kids’ last name. It felt important to [her]—[her] renaming, the public statement of ownership” (210). Changing the name and signage for the property was Burden’s way of preserving what parts of her past she still cherished, while actively Reconstructing Life After Abandonment and Loss.