The car chair
The main character is often described as traveling in the car together with his parents while he is often strapped in his car chair. The car chair is an important element here because it is used as a metaphor to represent his fragility and his innocence.
Metaphor for divine protection
The image of the church is extremely important in the memoir and it is often mentioned especially when the characters go through harsh moments in their life. The church thus becomes here used as a metaphor representing the divine protection the characters felt.
Night and day
The memoir begins with a description of night and day and the narrator describes how no matter how dark and long a night can be, a bright day will always follow. Both the night and the day described here have a metaphorical value, the night representing the times of hardship and the day representing the time of relative quiet and happiness.
Like a ghost
Soon after it became clear that Colton was sick, he quickly began to deteriorate. Colton begins to change and his parents watch over him with great care and worry. Colton is then compared with a ghost, his appearance being given by extreme weight loss and severe anemia. This comparison is important here because it shows just how severe the boy's condition was.
The storm
Before Colton becomes sick, a great storm affects the area and creates a lot of damage and destruction and making everyone feel afraid for their life. The description and the presence of the storm is important because it is used as a metaphor to represent the danger looming over Colton's head.
