Elsie craves a "happily ever after." How does this impact her choices about motherhood and marriage? Eventually she comes to understand that she is stronger than she knew. Do you agree that sometimes we just need to "rescue [our] own damn self"?

Elsie is a storyteller like her mother; a young woman who desperately wants to believe in “happily ever after.” How does that outlook affect her choices about motherhood and marriage? Eventually she comes to understand that “the most important stories are the ones we tell to—and about—ourselves,” and that she is stronger than she (or anyone else) knew. Do you agree that sometimes we just need to “rescue [our] own damn self”?