Lee’s Family and Lost Love

Bones & All

Lee’s history of protecting Kayla and losing Rachel explains both his guarded independence and the care he gradually extends to Maren.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

A Difficult Home A Difficult Home from "Bones & All". A Difficult Home An Unstable Household Lee grows up with a mother whose relationships bring dangerous men into the house.

A Difficult Home from "Bones & All". A Difficult Home An Unstable Household Lee grows up with a mother whose relationships bring dangerous men into the house.

A Difficult Home An Unstable Household Lee grows up with a mother whose relationships bring dangerous men into the house. He watches Kayla and worries that neither sibling has the protection of a dependable father. Leaving at Seventeen Lee leaves home after years of conflict and violence. His departure is an effort to escape the household while keeping Kayla’s safety in mind from a distance.

The Pink Witch The Pink Witch from "Bones & All". The Pink Witch A Cruel Babysitter Lee recalls a babysitter who quizzes and pinches him, punishing him in ways hidden from his mother.

The Pink Witch from "Bones & All". The Pink Witch A Cruel Babysitter Lee recalls a babysitter who quizzes and pinches him, punishing him in ways hidden from his mother.

The Pink Witch A Cruel Babysitter Lee recalls a babysitter who quizzes and pinches him, punishing him in ways hidden from his mother. He gives her the private name Pinkerwitch and remembers her cruelty more clearly than her face. A First Feeding One day, after his mother promises it will be the last time Lee stays with her, he kills and eats the babysitter. The event becomes his first known feeding and his earliest act of resistance to adult cruelty.

Protecting Kayla Protecting Kayla from "Bones & All". Protecting Kayla A Visit Home Lee returns to see Kayla and gives her driving lessons before leaving again.

Protecting Kayla from "Bones & All". Protecting Kayla A Visit Home Lee returns to see Kayla and gives her driving lessons before leaving again.

Protecting Kayla A Visit Home Lee returns to see Kayla and gives her driving lessons before leaving again. Their affection is evident, but he does not explain the full danger that makes him avoid staying. A Future of Her Own Lee wishes Kayla could afford a car and leave if she needed to. His care is expressed through practical freedom, even as he denies himself a place in her everyday life.

Rachel’s Witness Rachel’s Witness from "Bones & All". Rachel’s Witness A Night with Friends Lee brings Rachel to his home so she can spend time with Kayla.

Rachel’s Witness from "Bones & All". Rachel’s Witness A Night with Friends Lee brings Rachel to his home so she can spend time with Kayla.

Rachel’s Witness A Night with Friends Lee brings Rachel to his home so she can spend time with Kayla. When an abusive boyfriend arrives, Lee sends them away, but Rachel witnesses what happens next. A Relationship Broken Rachel runs and is later hospitalized after telling her parents she saw someone eaten. Lee cannot persuade her family that he did not mean to harm her, and he loses the person he loved.

A Sister’s Car A Sister’s Car from "Bones & All". A Sister’s Car Maren’s Gift Maren gives Travis’s black sedan to Kayla so she can have the independence Lee wanted for her.

A Sister’s Car from "Bones & All". A Sister’s Car Maren’s Gift Maren gives Travis’s black sedan to Kayla so she can have the independence Lee wanted for her.

A Sister’s Car Maren’s Gift Maren gives Travis’s black sedan to Kayla so she can have the independence Lee wanted for her. The gift becomes a way to care for Lee’s family even when Lee himself is absent. Care Carried Forward Kayla accepts the car and offers Maren food, clothing, and a place to wait. Their exchange turns Lee’s concern for his sister into a small chosen-family connection.

Lee’s childhood in Virginia

Lee’s childhood, before the family moves

Lee’s return to Tingley during the drive east

Two years before Lee meets Maren

After Maren escapes Sullivan