The Tom Brennan Story investigates the journey of personal growth and second chance at happiness of the protagonist, Tom. Tom was an ordinary teenager from Mumbilli, his life consisted of rugby matches, parties and homework, he was a popular guy with typical teenage problems, until the accident. The choice to drink and drive, made by Tom's brother Daniel, not only left two friends dead and his cousin Fin a quadriplegic; it also left Tom depressed, empty and grief-stricken. Tom felt guilty by association for what had happened, and Tom had always thought his family was so perfect that he truly believed "nothing and no one could take that away from us." Unfortunately for Tom, his belief in a perfect life was destroyed. There were many different ways for the characters involved in grief to cope with the tragedy. For Tom, he kept his emotions to himself, hiding them, which would prove to be a recipe for disaster. However, Tom's mother, Theresa, was lost in her emotions and to Tom and the others, she was barely recognizable as the woman she was before the accident. In the novel's prologue, the last line is "My name is Tom Brennan, and this is my story" and is a literal invitation for the protagonist to visually witness the story of his life, centered on the events that followed the tragedy. Say no to plagiarism. . Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay “I hit my head against the mirror”. Tom was frustrated and felt sorry for himself. Tom needed a path to overcome his frustration. Toms struggles throughout the novel, throughout his recovery from the traumatic accident he witnessed. Tom feels the need to get everything back to exactly the way it was, and Coghill can't replace the joy that afternoon football matches brought him with Daniel, his father and the local community of Mumbilli. His hill climb symbolizes Tom's struggle and journey, as well as running. Tom progresses in his transitional maturity by running: “Start running tomorrow, I've never seen you so... stationary. » Being still is a symbol of Tom's lack of courage and his avoidance of the truth: "Faster, faster, faster...like trying to find the gap to cross." » Tom finds his place in the new world. Tom believes his life is over after the accident, he loses his sense of identity and he no longer knows who he trusts, including his family. Moving from Mumbilli to Coghill meant that Tom would leave his friends and his life behind, except for the grief and guilt that accompanied it, a burden on his new life. However, Tom didn't expect to meet Chrissy, and it would change his world again. When Toms meets Chrissy, they become closer and more connected in each other's personal lives. Chrissy became the person Tom would talk to about his feelings about the accident. Thanks to Chrissy, Tom slowly became his old self again. Tom begins to move forward in his life, he becomes stronger than the rest of his family. rather, dwelling on the past. Tom began to let go of his anxiety and trust someone again, this symbolizes great maturity. When Tom loses his virginity to Chrissy, they "just loved each other and that was the morning Tom Brennan came back forever." This experience allowed Tom to finally take control of his life and he became his own person again. Theresa is undoubtedly the most broken character depicted in the novel; following her son's crime, her own child is sentenced to five years in prison and Tess struggles to accept the..