Character Analysis
Caroline was one wild chick back in the day. As a teenager, she was always in trouble, sneaking out at night to party and hang with her boyfriend. But after her dad's death, she settled down a bit and eventually got married.
In fact, Caroline seems to be the only one in the family who deals with her dad's death in a healthy way:
My sister seemed to take on our cumulative emotional reaction: she cried so much she seemed to be shriveling right in front of our eyes. (1.58)
Crying a lot after your dad dies? We'd say that's pretty normal. And letting her emotions out that way definitely helped Caroline get over them much more quickly than Macy and her mom.
Super Sister to the Rescue
When Caroline sees that her mom and sister are still suffering almost two years later, she decides to help guide them through the grieving process herself. Her strategy: ask them to help her remodel their dad's old beach house.
"I thought this was about the beach house," my mother said stiffly.
"It is," Caroline said. "But it's also about living." (6.92-93)
This girl's a total expert at stretching her family out of their comfort zones just a little bit at a time. And along with that, she's also a major ally for Macy: whether she's coaching her on how to act during a lecture from mom or talking up Wes's merits to soften Deborah's anger, she's always got a plan. As she tells Macy, "I just worry about you. I feel like you're missing out on something you won't be able to get back later" (6.97).
Sure enough, with her help, Macy and their mom both end up working through their issues. Way to go, Big Sis.