Yesterday

In Yesterday, the narrator takes us back to the defining moments of their youth—those raw, unfiltered experiences that shaped who they are long before the complications of adult life, like affairs or divorces, came into play. This chapter doesn’t dwell on the chaos of later life but instead zooms in on the messy, heart-wrenching reality of growing up.

It all starts with a move to Mt. Carson, where the narrator is thrust into a new world, living with their mother’s new partner, John Mortenson. On the surface, this should feel like an upgrade—more wealth, a bigger house—but instead, it's isolating. The money and comfort only magnify the emotional coldness, leaving them longing for the warmth of their old life. Amid this emptiness, a summer friendship with a girl named Becka becomes their lifeline. She represents everything they crave—connection, understanding, maybe even love. Their feelings for her grow, complicated by the mix of youthful infatuation and the sense that they’re still on the outside looking in, never quite belonging.

As the chapter unfolds, we see how deeply these early experiences scarred the narrator. Becca, with her eventual distance, embodies that first heartbreak, the kind that cuts the deepest because you don’t have the emotional tools to cope. It’s not just a story of longing for someone else—it’s about trying to figure out who you are in the midst of all that hurt and confusion. The weight of those early heartbreaks and the feeling of never truly fitting in leaves a mark that the narrator carries into adulthood, influencing every relationship that follows.

Yesterday is more than a trip down memory lane—it’s a soul-searching reflection on the pain of first love, the longing for belonging, and how the innocence of youth is lost before you even realize it. The Beatles’ song title is perfectly chosen. Like the song, this chapter is drenched in nostalgia for a simpler time, while acknowledging that those early heartbreaks were never really left behind. They still echo in the narrator’s life today, shaping who they are and how they navigate the world.