The only way out is up

“The only way out is up” is an expression of resilience that crystallizes Kember’s response to crisis. Its decisive significance lies in turning apparent entrapment into a direction of travel: once circumstances have reduced her choices to survival, she chooses movement, work, and the possibility of renewal rather than remaining where she is.

Meaning in Context

The expression appears after Kember has been stripped of the ordinary supports that made her life viable. She has lost her job, has no boyfriend and no money, and is already carrying the absence of her mother, who died a couple of years earlier. Her small-town life offers little security, while her only known relative is her cousin Kesha in Baltimore. Against that background, the image of a hole gives shape to a condition that is both material and emotional: the bottom is not merely disappointment, but a point at which continuing in the same way is no longer possible.

The Immediate Crisis

The phrase follows a concrete breakdown rather than an abstract moment of discouragement. The power shuts off with a static hiss while Kember stands in the dark, staring at her cell phone. The loss of electricity makes her precarious situation impossible to ignore; without hot water and power, she no longer believes she can survive comfortably in the apartment. She lights candles, packs her bags, laptop, and basic necessities, blows out the candles, locks the door, and carries her belongings to her car. The expression therefore emerges from an environment that physically presses her toward change.

Action as Recovery

Kember had already been considering a trip to the big city, where she might pursue egg-donor work while submitting resumes. The power failure resolves her hesitation. She starts the car, pauses to take a deep breath, and promises herself that she will not cry. Her private reassurance does not erase the losses that brought her there; instead, it marks a decision to act despite them. The expression’s upward movement is consequently practical rather than miraculous. It means leaving the failing apartment, seeking employment, and testing whether Baltimore can offer a viable next step.

Arrival and Forward Motion

The decision produces an immediate change in circumstance. Kember reaches Baltimore and arrives at Kesha’s house, where she unpacks in the spare bedroom. The move does not solve everything: she is still uncertain about the choices available to her and wonders how Kesha can afford a nice house in an expensive part of town while working as a receptionist at a fertility clinic. Even so, the journey converts paralysis into possibility. The expression functions as a hinge between the darkened apartment and a new setting in which questions about work, fertility, money, and family can develop.

Narrative and Thematic Function

As a recurring maxim, “The only way out is up” compresses Kember’s turning point into a memorable piece of figurative language. Its force comes from the contrast between the downward image of reaching the bottom of a hole and the upward action demanded afterward. The surrounding details keep the sentiment from becoming empty encouragement: unemployment, poverty, bereavement, the loss of electricity, candlelight, packed necessities, and the drive to Baltimore all give the phrase physical weight. It presents resilience not as confidence that hardship has ended, but as the refusal to mistake the bottom for a permanent destination.