My Name is Lucy Barton

My Name is Lucy Barton follows Lucy Barton’s journey into the past to confront the trauma that has influenced her every decision. Despite her age and role as a mother, Lucy struggles to move on from her traumatic childhood. As she attempts to start over in New York City, Lucy cannot escape the burden of her painful memories, which threaten to disrupt her new life. Through her reunion with her mother, Lucy learns that she will never be able to leave the past behind and that the only way to move on is to confront her darkest fears.

Lucy moves to New York with William with the hope of starting over far away from the memories of her isolated childhood in rural Illinois. New York, a symbol of hopes and dreams, seems to provide her the opportunity to escape the memories of her mother’s abandonment and her father’s abuse. However, as Lucy pursues her dream of becoming a writer, she continues to be confronted by reminders of her past. She hears a child crying on the subway and flees the “subway car I was riding in so I did not have to hear a child crying that way” (67). At her first Gay Pride Parade, an overwhelmed Lucy leaves early when she remembers watching her father’s public abuse of her brother for wearing women’s clothing and seeing how her father “lay next to my brother in the dark and held him as though he was a baby” (178). Lucy’s trauma dominates her new experiences in New York City. She quickly begins to realize that she is unable to escape her past.

Her mother’s appearance at her bedside further overwhelms Lucy as they navigate the tension that alienates them. When her mother abandons her in her most vulnerable state, Lucy realizes that the only way she can move on from her past is to forge new connections with others around her. She finds community in others who have endured trauma and, through their guidance, confronts the horrors of her childhood. Through the validation of fellow survivors, Lucy grows in her confidence as a writer and records what has happened to her. Her newfound confidence strengthens her to face her parents one last time on their death beds and make the difficult decision to leave her husband. Lucy ultimately learns that her trauma holds the power to disrupt her life and the power to teach her a new way to live.