“The world is Trouble...and Grace. That is all there is.”
Henry has lived in a “bubble” all his life as a result of his father sheltering him and his family from Trouble. Trouble is a terminology his father uses to describe pain or suffering that are essentially by-products of living. Following the death of his older brother Franklin, Henry has an epiphany and comes to learn that life and suffering are synonymous. However, through the pain and suffering is where beauty can be found thus the essence of truly living. The statement, therefore, demonstrates this notion that Henry gradually comprehends in his journey.
“A heart that has lost knows every other heart that has lost. Late and soon, loss is all the same.”
The statement follows after the connection Henry and Clay have concerning loss they have both suffered. Henry goes on a journey with other mourning or lost souls; one is Clay his brother’s killer a fact he is unaware of initially. He has to learn forgiveness only by facing the pain which in this instance is the man who killed his brother, the source of his pain. He begins empathizing with Clay the more he gets to know about him as he gets enlightens and understands loss from a different perspective.
