The irony of Macy's situation
Fathers have a valuable role in the lives of their children, by nature, which is what makes Macy's situation so tragic and painful. Not only did Macy have to learn about death at a young age, she has to suffer the purest kind of loss imaginable, the death of one's parents. When a parent dies, the truth about life comes into crystal clear focus, but for most people, that is a part of life they don't discover until after they are married with kids. The fact that Macy suffers it young is ironic and difficult to fathom.
The ironic mother
What is a mother designed by nature to provide to her child? Protection, support, and nourishment, but by no fault of her own (imagine the pain of losing a spouse so early in life), Macy's mother Deborah starts to fail in those roles. Ironically, Macy cannot get what she needs from the one person who could give it, because they are both suffering so immensely that they don't have enough balance and support to offer one another. This isn't a picture of hatred or failure. Rather, it is a picture of a family in mourning, but to Macy, the mourning itself is complicated and painful.
The irony of ordinary time
Life can be divided into two hypothetical categories. There are the days when unimaginable fates befall us—accidents, illnesses, deaths, foreclosures, bankruptcy, failure—ad infinitum. Then there are days that feel "Normal." The benefit of privilege is typically that there is more "Normal" time than "Fateful" time. But there is no privilege that can protect anyone from death. Macy is left in an ironic situation—her friends are in normal time, and she tries to act normal to participate with them, but secretly, she is in a season of intense emotional torture.
The irony of mourning
For every other affliction on earth, time is the solution. But for death, time is the very problem itself. Because no one can stop their own aging, we are guaranteed to die, and the dead are guaranteed by science to stay dead forever, although there are religions that talk of the dead rising. Macy is locked in her mourning, and that means she has to contemplate death during her life, which is ironic, but what is ironic in a more painful, personal way, is that during the mourning process, her body is trying to figure out ways to undo the death somehow, to make it all go away. But, Macy has to find peace. The solution must be something ironic, since what Macy wants is not going to be granted to her.
The irony of family
Macy learns the magic answer to these sad problems. She sees it in her friendships, even when she doesn't know that's what is happening. When her friends do things that she doesn't expect, when she learns about them, or when she explores the emotional terrain of her feelings toward each person in her life, she can find healing and peace. In other words, although there is nothing she can do to resurrect her father from death, she can create new family members for herself by loving her friends. They support her through this process.
