As I was reading this first section, I found myself thinking about how conditioned we are to make decisions based on what other people might think, or how things "should" be, rather than spending the time to find - and in some cases, fight for - what's truly right.

When Father Mike is accused of molesting Lizzy, he accepts his fate quietly and almost without surprise. He doesn't act like a guilty man who's been caught, but rather appears as someone who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and who has come to terms with the idea that his life and reputation will be forever changed because of that.

Did he do the right thing in taking the fall - presumably in an effort to protect Lizzy from more pain? Or should he have protested, standing up for (and thus encouraging her to stand up for) the truth? He probably would have still met the same unfortunate fate in the end, but I wonder if Lizzy's life might have been changed for the better in that short time they could have had together.

When Lizzy meets Harry Griggs months after the accident, he tries to explain why he left the scene - that he didn't want to get caught with a suspended license, that he didn't want to take on another problem... he simply followed his gut reaction in a crisis situation, just as most people would do. But unlike most people, he let his own stresses outweigh her struggle for life, and he left her alone. He says he presumed she was already gone, but if that were you in that situation, would it matter? Wouldn't you still want to feel like you'd done everything you possibly could? I wonder what would have happened if he had thought of a solution somewhere in the middle - moving her out of the road and calling 911 was a start, but what about flagging down another vehicle to help her, or staying with her until the last minute, until he heard the sirens?

Then there is Lizzy's strained marriage to Drew. As the other bloggers have mentioned, there is little evidence of real love here, but rather their commitment seems to be built on a foundation of duty or obligation. They were first drawn together because they thought they would save each other, and now that Lizzy has been through this horrific accident, Drew has put aside his thoughts of leaving her. As he says, "What kind of man would I be?" The thought of leaving someone alone after she has been through such an ordeal does seem cruel, of course.... but in a sense, so does staying in an empty marriage. Is there love motivating Drew's actions, or is it all about him-- his sense of obligation, and of wanting to be seen as a good person?

All of these issues are so complex, so intensely personal and full of emotion... and all of them happened so suddenly that decisions had to be made quickly. The reactions and decisions of all of these characters are perfectly understandable, and human... if there is a 100% right answer in any of these situations, I'm sure I don't know what it would be. But I still can't help but wonder how different things might have been if the characters hadn't acted quite so impulsively, and if instead of choosing the simplest or most socially acceptable solution, or what seemed right just in that moment, they had taken more time to think about what would truly be best for everyone involved, in the long run.

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