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The Mystery of a Father's Absence

Turtles All the Way Down

This flow follows Noah's longing for contact, the clues he shares, and the painful reality that his father may never have intended to return.

increasingupBearing stren­gth in each eventdowndecreasing
Waiting for HomeWaiting for Home from "Turtles All the Way Down". Waiting for Home Hope remains active Noah Pickett wants his father to return and struggles to accept Davis Pickett's view that the family may be better off…
Waiting for Home Hope remains active Noah Pickett wants his father to return and struggles to accept Davis Pickett's view that the family may be better off without him. The absence is not abstract to a thirteen-year-old waiting for a message. A brother cannot substitute Davis cares for Noah but cannot give him the answer or parental presence he wants.
The Notes from iCloudThe Notes from iCloud from "Turtles All the Way Down". The Notes from iCloud A request for a clue Noah Pickett gives Aza Holmes notes copied from Russell Pickett's phone, hoping they will lead to his father.
The Notes from iCloud A request for a clue Noah Pickett gives Aza Holmes notes copied from Russell Pickett's phone, hoping they will lead to his father. The last phrase, “the jogger’s mouth,” becomes an unresolved question. Trust placed in Aza Noah asks her to keep searching because he cannot stop imagining that his father may be trying to communicate.
A Hopeful ExplanationA Hopeful Explanation from "Turtles All the Way Down". A Hopeful Explanation Noah asks whether his father could reach out Noah Pickett wonders if Russell Pickett might be trying to contact the family in a way they…
A Hopeful Explanation Noah asks whether his father could reach out Noah Pickett wonders if Russell Pickett might be trying to contact the family in a way they have not understood. Aza Holmes offers the possibility that he is simply waiting until it is safe. Comfort without knowledge The answer comforts Noah briefly but is not supported by any actual message from his father.
The Tunnel ClueThe Tunnel Clue from "Turtles All the Way Down". The Tunnel Clue Hope turns toward dread Aza Holmes identifies Pogue’s Run as a possible meaning of the note from Russell Pickett's phone.
The Tunnel Clue Hope turns toward dread Aza Holmes identifies Pogue’s Run as a possible meaning of the note from Russell Pickett's phone. The foul smell makes Davis Pickett fear that his father is dead. A family must choose Noah's need to know becomes inseparable from the possibility of losing hope.
A Choice Made TogetherA Choice Made Together from "Turtles All the Way Down". A Choice Made Together The brothers act Noah Pickett and Davis Pickett tell police where to search, ending their long uncertainty.
A Choice Made Together The brothers act Noah Pickett and Davis Pickett tell police where to search, ending their long uncertainty. They do not wait for the legal period to run out. Grief without reunion The decision answers where their father is but cannot restore the relationship Noah wanted.
The weeks immediately after Russell's disappearance
Late September, when Noah asks Aza for help
October, while Aza visits the Pickett estate
Early winter, after Aza tells Davis what she found
Early January, after the news report