The Poppy Fields

The Poppy Fields argues that grief and loss are inescapable as part of the human condition. The narrative also explores the ways that grief and loss often intersect with guilt, shame, blame, and other complex emotions. With the novel’s exploration of this issue, Erlick offers a compassionate perspective on individuals who struggle to process loss and look for ways to mitigate its impact, ultimately arguing that there are many ways to move beyond grief.

Early in the novel, Erlick describes grief as “the pain that comes for us all, the weight ultimately thrust on everyone” (2), establishing the inevitability of grief. Each of the characters has lost someone important, and those losses reshaped who they are as people. Ava lost both her grandmother and her relationship with her sister. Ray lost his brother, and Sasha lost her fiancé. In each case, the loss was a defining moment in their adult lives that initially destabilized them. As each character navigates their grief, they all learn different versions of the same lesson: Grief is a part of love, a sign of the significance of their connection with a lost loved one.