The Road to Tender Hearts

PJ is the protagonist and unlikely hero of the novel. The text describes PJ as follows: “People might have considered PJ the luckiest man in Pondville, if everyone didn’t know how much he’d already lost” (15). PJ’s life unraveled after the death of his daughter, Kate. The tragedy destroyed his marriage to Ivy and triggered his alcohol addiction. PJ’s relationship with his ex-wife is unconventional. Even after their marriage falls apart following Kate’s death, Ivy and her new partner, Fred, remain his closest friends. Fred treats PJ almost like a brother, offering practical support and stability, while Ivy shields PJ from bad news. Their closeness, however, also prevents PJ from fully confronting his dependence. Their friendship is, at times, unhealthy. Ivy’s care for PJ crosses into codependency; her need to keep him afloat comes at the expense of letting him face the full weight of his mistakes, creating a dynamic that is generous but enabling. PJ clings to them because they’re the only people who truly understand what he’s lost.

When PJ learns that Michelle Cobb is now widowed, he latches onto the news as a kind of lifeline—a chance, however unrealistic, to start over.