Changing history
After a recently divorced high school English teacher named Jake talks with his friend, an older man who owns a diner named Al, he comes to understand Al's desires. For much of his life, Al has wanted to go into the past and change history so that President John F. Kennedy was not assassinated. Al hoped that if he were able to stop the assassination from taking place, he would be able to stop the Vietnam War from ramping up under President Lyndon Johnson. Initially, Jake is skeptical of Al's plan, but he begins to see the value it could bring to the world. His mantra, “Stupidity is one of the two things we see most clearly in retrospect. The other is missed chances," becomes a guiding principle for him as he grows increasingly determined to rid the world of Lee Harvey Oswald, saving Kennedy.
After Jake changes history, he realizes that he has made a terrible mistake. He thought that Kennedy staying alive would be a boon to the world and to world peace. It was anything but. Ten years after the assassination attempt, Jake discovers that nuclear bombs destroyed much of the United States. Things happen for a reason, and Jake (and readers) quickly learn that those things shouldn't be tampered with. The consequences could be severe.
Finding true love
When Jake married his wife, he did so out of a sense of obligation and because he felt that he truly loved her. As readers learn in the first few chapters of 11/22/63, however, the two never really loved each other and are getting a divorce. This divorce devastates Jake, who retreats into himself. He never closes himself off to the possibility of finding love once again, saying, "I believe in love, you know; love is a uniquely portable magic." In other words, love can be found with anyone, in any place in the world. Love isn't something that can only be found with a single person in a single area. Jake believes that he finds true love with a woman in 1958 named Sadie. Though the two aren't able to stay together for a variety of reasons, their story reflects the universality of love.
