‘Part of Your World’ by Abby Jimenez: Grace costs you nothing

There is a science to forming relationships and falling in love.

A research article headlined A Theoretical Examination of Homophily Beyond Focus Theory suggests that people are often attracted to others with similar characteristics, such as age, education, and social class because it eases communication and reduces potential conflicts.

However, this is different for Alexis and Daniel, two main characters in Part of Your World, written by Abby Jimenez.

The author introduces Alexis (Ali) as she is driving back home from a funeral. She gets stuck in a ditch as she swerves a raccoon in a foggy small tourist town called Wakan.

The 38-year-old comes from a wealthy family of doctors based in Minneapolis who have dominated the profession for 125 years. Most of Ali’s closest people, including her twin brother, Derek, and her best friend, Briana, work in the same profession.

While in the car, waiting to be towed out of the ditch, the author introduces Daniel, a 28-year-old tall and handsome man with rose tattoos on both arms.

Daniel lives in Wakan with his partially deaf dog, Hunter. He comes from an ordinary family with a reputation for serving the people of Wakan as mayors for over a century. Daniel notices Ali’s car in the ditch and offers help.

They later run into each other at VFW, where the whole town meets to socialise, and Ali meets Daniel’s childhood friends Brian, Liz, and Doug. Like the North and South Poles, Ali and Daniel's worlds are so far apart, but their chemistry is so undeniable that it slowly evolves into love.

Against all odds, they start a relationship, knowing its future is a mystery. Ali is honest about all the odds facing them from the beginning and that they will eventually have to end it, but Daniel does not care. She makes him want to do better and be better.

"Love follows you. It goes wherever you go. It does not know about the social divides, distance, or reason. It does not even stop when someone you love dies. It simply wants what it wants."

Jimenez brings in the subject of gender-based violence. People outside abusive relationships tend to ask why the victims do not leave their abusive partners, not knowing the true realities of abuse and how the victim perceives and lives with that truth.

According to UN Women, intimate partner violence refers to behaviour by an intimate partner or ex-partner that causes physical, sexual, or psychological harm, including physical aggression, sexual coercion, psychological abuse and controlling behaviours. It is one of the most common forms of violence experienced by women globally.

The author highlights this through Ali and her ex-boyfriend, Neil, and Liz with her husband, Jake. Neil was always inconsistent with how he treated Ali. He was mean to her, as he would casually throw hurtful comments about her appearance and how she smelled. This is one of the strategies abusers use to ensure their victims doubt themselves.

"I never knew which Neil I was going to get. One day, he is cooking my favourite dinner and bottle of wine, and the next, he is mad at me for God knows what because he won't even speak to me."

On the other hand, Liz is experiencing physical abuse from her husband, which has been happening over the years. She has never admitted that her husband is abusing her because of the flickering hope that he would change.

“The most dangerous time in an abusive relationship is when you leave because when you do, the abuser knows he has lost control," Ali tells Daniel one night after they witnessed Jake pulling Liz out of the car and throwing her to the ground.

Both of these types of abuse have a long-term impact on the victims. Our societies must become safe spaces for victims to share their experiences. This can be done by first believing the victims and not further tormenting them with their wounds. Ali tells Liz that she believes her and that it is not her fault that she is being abused. Only then does Liz admit that she is truly a victim.

Generational wealth comes with generational expectations and pressure to do better than the previous generation. These expectations rarely care about one's emotions or desires. The expectations threaten Ali's relationship with Daniel, forcing her to choose between love and family. She fears being disowned by her family, as they did with her twin brother, Derek when he decided to marry Nikki.

"What does happy even look like, Bri? I fall in line and do what is expected of me, give up Daniel, but get my family? Or give it all up?"

Jimenez skilfully shows two different worlds through the lives of the privileged and the non-privileged. For Ali, it is to ensure she pleases her parents and preserves her family’s legacy. And for Daniel, it is his community. You are giving grace because it costs nothing. Whatever your background is, you have to decide what you care about most, stand up for it, and be ready to pay the price.

Jane Shussa is passionate about books, coffee, nature, and travel. She serves as a Senior Digital Communications Officer for Twaweza East Africa.