When We Believed in Mermaids: A Novel

The novel begins with Kit leaving work and going to the cove to surf where her family home/restaurant once stood. As the story unfolds, it is revealed that Kit learned how to surf from the boy who came to live with her family and served as both an older brother and surrogate parent to her in her childhood. By visiting this location at the beginning of the novel, and again at the end, Kit reveals the importance of this place, but also the significance of surfing in her life. At the beginning, surfing is a way of relaxing after a tense night as an emergency room doctor. However, it quickly becomes evident that surfing has strong connections to trauma that defines Kit’s past and still influences her present. In this capacity, surfing is a motif that explores the theme of The Lasting Effects of Childhood Trauma.

Kit closely relates her enjoyment of surfing to her relationships with Dylan and Josie. However, Kit harbors some resentment toward Josie for using surfing to escape the trauma of their lives and to continue the estrangement that comes with addiction. Kit both uses surfing to feel closer to her sister and Dylan and to attempt to escape the realities of her life.