Contents
A Tour of the Galaxy
Overview
Via explains her family’s August-centered “solar system,” showing how she learned to be self-reliant as her parents focused on August’s medical needs. She accepts this without resentment but notes a new, unsettling shift in the family’s balance. The chapter reframes stakes from Via’s perspective, signaling coming changes in relationships.
Summary
Via narrates that August is the family’s “Sun,” with Mom, Dad, and herself orbiting around his needs. Friends and relatives are distant bodies in this metaphorical galaxy, while the dog, Daisy, treats everyone the same.
Via reflects on growing up in this system: she accepted missed games and plays, quieted herself when August needed rest, and never complained after witnessing his surgeries and recoveries. She became fiercely independent, managing schoolwork, projects, and problems without asking for help.
Though she insists this isn’t nobility, just reality, Via ends by sensing a cosmic shift: the family’s once-stable alignment is changing. This signals an impending reconfiguration of roles and relationships.
Who Appears
- Via (Olivia Pullman)Narrator; describes life orbiting August’s needs, her learned independence, and senses a troubling shift in family dynamics.
- August PullmanVia’s brother; the familial “Sun” whose medical needs have centered the household.
- MomOften prioritizes August’s therapies and surgeries, unintentionally leaving Via to manage herself.
- DadLikewise focused on August’s care; praises Via’s understanding while relying on her self-sufficiency.
- DaisyFamily dog; treats everyone the same, unaffected by August’s appearance.