The Son’s Return to Wyoming

This flow traces Joachim(Jocki)’s choice to return to the United States after the funeral and the emotional distance that lets him function.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

A Sudden Departure

A Sudden Departure Leaving the City Joachim(Jocki) wants to get away from Schleswig and applies for an exchange year. He hopes that a new country will offer a different place in which to live. Unplanned Destination He arrives in Laramie rather than the large city he imagined, beginning a year of adjustment far from his familiar hospital world.

Ordinary School Life

Ordinary School Life New Activities Joachim(Jocki) takes classes in rock climbing and woodworking, attends church, and plays basketball. He adapts to his host family and earns confidence in practical activities. Temporary Stability The routine gives him a life organized by school and recreation rather than family crisis. His year abroad seems to be progressing normally.

The Death Call

The Death Call News Hermann tells Joachim(Jocki) that his brother has died in a car crash. The narrator cannot immediately speak in English and searches for the words in his dictionary. Disconnection The news creates a gap between the event and his ability to feel it. He knows what happened, but cannot yet enter the family’s grief.

The Funeral and Departure

The Funeral and Departure Homecoming Joachim(Jocki) returns to Schleswig for the funeral, seeing his parents sitting silently at the airport. They embrace, but the family has changed. Return Abroad He chooses to fly back to Wyoming two weeks later. His parents do not prevent him, though his father asks once whether he might stay.

The Year Continues

The Year Continues Everyday Life Joachim(Jocki) plays sports, rides horses, travels, and makes a prison pen pal. At school, no one outside his host family knows about the accident. Numbness as Shelter He refuses to grieve and rarely thinks of his brother except after calls home. Ordinary life becomes a temporary protection from the loss.

After the Officers’ Club breakdown

Before the brother’s death

Several weeks into the school year

Four days after the death call

The remaining months in Wyoming