The Psychology of Kenna Rowan's Redemption: More Than Her Worst Mistake

When we first meet Kenna Rowan in Colleen Hoover's 'Reminders of Him', she feels less like a person and more like a ghost. Fresh out of prison after five years, she's returned to the town that holds both the best and worst moments of her life. She’s a young mother, but she’s never held her child. Her sole purpose, the very reason for her breathing, it seems, is to catch a single glimpse of her four-year-old daughter, Diem. She stands outside a bookshop, a peripheral figure shrouded in shame, hoping for a chance that everyone, from the girl's grandparents to the local community, is determined to deny her. It’s a desperately lonely starting point, and you can feel the weight of the world pressing down on her from the very first page.