The bottle that Ryan throws at Lillian in the early years of their marriage is a motif that reflects the theme of The Effects of Addiction on Loved Ones. The bottle marks the first time Ryan lashes out at Lillian because of his alcohol use, and Lillian’s perception of the bottle and what it means catalyzes the main conflict of the novel: “Ryan says we can’t afford a down payment, and when I open my mouth to respond, there’s a flying flash of darkness. I duck on reflex. Behind my head, a shatter. Shards jump, attaching to my skin like leeches” (61). When Lillian feels the bottle shatter, she is confronted with Ryan’s alcohol misuse and is forced to decide whether to stay or leave. Additionally, the simile that compares the shards to leeches attaching to Lillian foreshadows the struggles that lie ahead: Ryan’s addiction and the impact it has on Lillian and Jet will, at times, feel draining.

Even after the incident, the image of the bottle being thrown and shattering reappears in the narrative as it haunts Lillian. For her, it is the moment that demarcates the Ryan before and after he begins drinking, marking when he became two different people in Lillian’s mind: “I dream of Drunk Ryan and the stairs and the exploding bottle, and I wake up exhausted from the push and pull of it. I don’t know if he can stop drinking. I hope. Want. Believe, even. But I don’t know. Maybe he can’t” (100). As Lillian remembers the bottle, she also feels hopeful that he can overcome his guilt and stop drinking to punish himself for throwing the bottle. She describes the image of the bottle as contributing to the push and pull of her emotions, highlighting her fluctuating faith in Ryan. Even during times when she feels that he can, and her love for him swells, the memory of the bottle lurks in the background, reminding her of what Ryan can be at his worst, shaking her trust.