An important part of the book is Stella’s relationship with her parents. As we learn in the movie, they separated after Abby’s death, which no one in the family was prepared for. But in the book, Stella’s parents cannot speak to one another, and Stella spends significant energy trying not to burden or worry them. She takes an Uber to the hospital when she gets sick, telling each parent that the other drove her, and makes sure to tell them about her G-tube surgery rather than letting Barb do it. The tension comes to a head when they are in the waiting room during the G-tube surgery, arguing, and Barb reams them out for not realizing how much work Stella is doing to protect them when it should be the other way around.