It Starts with Us Characters: Full List & Analysis

Who drives the story

Main characters

Lily Bloom

Florist, survivor, mother. She watched her father beat her mother, swore she'd never stay, stayed anyway, and then did the harder thing her mother never did: left, while pregnant, and chose her daughter over her husband.

Appears in:: Part 1: The Eulogy and the Empty Chair; Part 2: The Casserole and the Crack; Part 3: Vegas, the Stairs, the Gun; Part 4: Emerson, and What Starts
Themes:: The cycle of abuse; Leaving is not the ending; First love as unfinished business; Forgiveness and its limits; Mothers and daughters

Ryle Kincaid

Brilliant neurosurgeon, impulsive lover, dangerous husband. A childhood accident, shooting his brother Emerson, left rage he can't govern, and no apology or confession can make Lily safe.

Appears in:: Part 1: The Eulogy and the Empty Chair; Part 2: The Casserole and the Crack; Part 3: Vegas, the Stairs, the Gun; Part 4: Emerson, and What Starts
Themes:: The cycle of abuse; First love as unfinished business; Forgiveness and its limits

Atlas Corrigan

The homeless boy Lily fed and loved at fifteen, now a chef with his own restaurant. He waited, suppressed his feelings while she was married, and becomes the safe place she runs to, twice.

Appears in:: Part 1: The Eulogy and the Empty Chair; Part 2: The Casserole and the Crack; Part 3: Vegas, the Stairs, the Gun; Part 4: Emerson, and What Starts
Themes:: First love as unfinished business

Jenny Bloom

Lily's mother, a lifelong survivor of Andrew's abuse who stayed because she loved him and hoped he'd change. Her plea for Lily to leave is the wisdom bought with her own wasted years.

Appears in:: Part 1: The Eulogy and the Empty Chair; Part 4: Emerson, and What Starts
Themes:: The cycle of abuse; Mothers and daughters

Emerson (daughter)

Lily and Ryle's newborn, named for the uncle Ryle killed. She is the reason Lily finally ends it, and the reason it must end with her generation.

Appears in:: Part 3: Vegas, the Stairs, the Gun; Part 4: Emerson, and What Starts
Themes:: The cycle of abuse; Leaving is not the ending; Forgiveness and its limits

Also in the story

Supporting characters

Allysa

Lily's first hire at Lily Bloom's and her close friend, who turns out to be Ryle's sister, binding Lily's work life and marriage together.

Appears in:: Part 1: The Eulogy and the Empty Chair

How they are connected

Key relationships

Lily Bloom Emerson (daughter)
She watched her father beat her mother, swore she'd never stay, stayed anyway, and then did the harder thing her mother never did: left, while pregnant, and chose her daughter over her husband.
Ryle Kincaid Lily Bloom
A childhood accident, shooting his brother Emerson, left rage he can't govern, and no apology or confession can make Lily safe.
Ryle Kincaid Emerson (daughter)
A childhood accident, shooting his brother Emerson, left rage he can't govern, and no apology or confession can make Lily safe.
Atlas Corrigan Lily Bloom
The homeless boy Lily fed and loved at fifteen, now a chef with his own restaurant.
Jenny Bloom Lily Bloom
Lily's mother, a lifelong survivor of Andrew's abuse who stayed because she loved him and hoped he'd change.
Allysa Lily Bloom
Lily's first hire at Lily Bloom's and her close friend, who turns out to be Ryle's sister, binding Lily's work life and marriage together.
Allysa Ryle Kincaid
Lily's first hire at Lily Bloom's and her close friend, who turns out to be Ryle's sister, binding Lily's work life and marriage together.

Go deeper

It Starts with Us themes & symbols

The cycle of abuse · Leaving is not the ending · First love as unfinished business · Forgiveness and its limits

Themes explained

Read the full It Starts with Us summary

The full story act by act, the ending explained and a quick quiz.

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