It's Not All Downhill From Here

Chapters 27-32 end the novel’s narrative arc. McMillan concludes the various plot threads as each character resolves their internal and external conflicts. The ending becomes a form of the traditional “happily ever after.” Everyone has achieved their desires and overcome the antagonistic forces they battled: age, health, and death.

Jalecia’s ending explores healthy coping mechanisms for depression and concludes the novel’s use of the motif of drugs. When she discusses her time in treatment, Jalecia describes how the doctors “give you hope and confidence, something [she hasn’t] felt in years. [They] had these workshops all day that explained so much and [they] even had to keep a journal every night and write down our thoughts and feelings. [She] cried a lot” (314). Jalecia no longer depends on drugs to take away the pain of her struggles because she has the help she needs. By putting Jalecia’s drug use in the past tense, McMillan signals that drugs no longer influence her characters or affect how they experience resilience and health. Her characters are entirely free to be themselves.

Lucky’s defining character trait is her negativity. Loretha frequently identifies this, commenting, “Well, you’re not all that loveable, Lucky. You’re mean and all you do is complain about everything and everybody” (143). While many other characters have external forces they must overcome, Lucky’s challenges are primarily internal. Despite the superficial changes she experiences, her growth narrative requires her to overcome negativity before being happy. She experiences a difficult journey because her friends do not take her seriously. Lucky’s arc presents a narrative of self-growth. There is little Lucky can change about the world around her. While she wants to lose weight and break free from her drug addiction, she struggles to make better choices. Only after Poochie’s death initiates self-reflection can Lucky change. She tells her friends, “I feel lucky to be alive. I’m not trying to get all mushy, but losing Poochie has helped me appreciate the fact that I have choices and it’s not too late to make healthier ones” (308). Though she acknowledges she will likely always have a complex personality, she chooses to be better rather than allow her negative behavior to continue affecting her friends.

This section also provides closure for all the narrative's themes. The women no longer see health and age as a negative correlation. When Korynthia questions Loretha about age, Loretha’s response exemplifies the novel’s overall message about Perceptions of Age and Health: “It’s my shop. And I’m old. And what the hell does being old have to do with anything? We’re not dead yet” (309). Loretha, who spends so much time surrounded by death and worrying about whether her diabetes will kill her, now understands that she cannot allow those factors to influence her life. She has reconnected with Jalecia and visits Jackson in Japan. Her visits, conversations, and intentions all demonstrate the influential power of The Bond Between Family and Friends. McMillan highlights that none of the friends’ successes could have happened without the support of the others. Jalecia could not have come around and found the help she needed if Loretha and Peggy had not supported her. Everyone progresses because of the friends and family they lean on when they struggle. Despite everyone’s internal and external losses, they demonstrate Resilience in the Face of Personal Loss by pushing forward. They do not forget the friends and family who died along the way, but they understand that those loved ones would not want them holding back. In the concluding chapters, McMillan intertwines all three themes to show how each relates to and relies on the others, illustrating how friendship and determination shape Loretha and her friends’ lives.