The novel explicitly frames Lou’s upbringing through the lens of her mother’s chaotic behavioral patterns. Lou describes her mother as being consumed by her romantic relationships. Overwhelmed by her emotional ups and downs, Lou’s mother does not take care of her finances, leading to frequent evictions and crises. When Lou is seven, her mother is diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD), suggesting her behaviors are linked with a previously undiagnosed mental health condition. As per the Mayo Clinic, people with untreated BPD often deal with an unsteady self-image, mood swings, and a fear of abandonment, leading them to sometimes seek intense and unhealthy relationships (“Borderline Personality Disorder.” Mayo Clinic. 31 Jan. 2024). Though Lou’s mother loves her children, she refuses to seek consistent treatment for her issues, which makes Goldie move Lou in with her when Lou is nine years old. The novel suggests both Lou and Goldie are profoundly affected by their tumultuous childhood, carrying familial patterns into adulthood: While Lou tends to take care of others, just like she did with her mother, Goldie develops a single-minded focus on self-sufficiency, determined to be as unlike their mother as possible.

The lasting impact of growing up in a chaotic home can be understood in the context of research around upbringing. The medical website HealthMatch explains that parent-child problems are common when a parent deals with unmanaged BPD, with the child often having “to assume the role of parent and look after them,” leading to a persistent tendency to assume a “caretaker” role (Batten, Lisa. “Dealing with a Borderline Personality Disorder Parent.” HealthMatch. 1 Jun. 2022). Further, irrespective of a parent’s medical diagnosis, frequent, unpredictable moves during childhood may be linked with a lasting sense of instability in adulthood, as found in a Danish study (Webb, Roger T. et al. “Adverse Outcomes to Early Middle Age Linked with Childhood Residential Mobility.” National Library of Medicine, Sep. 2016). This context directly illuminates Lou’s motivations and fears. She describes her childhood as a “blur of rentals and motels” (14), leading to a profound desire for stability, which she finds in the Estes Park house. She reflects that a part of her stayed with Nate simply to prove to herself that she was “not like my mother” (11). Lou’s gravitation toward a career in therapy and her role in her mother’s life as the one “picking up the bloodied pieces” (62) after each heartbreak also align with the patterns observed in families where the child-parent role is reversed. Understanding this psychological background is crucial to grasping the depth of Lou’s need for a stable home and her instinct to heal others, which ultimately inspires the creation of the Comeback Inn.