How I Live Now

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains references to war, violent death, disordered eating, self-harm, and incest.

“My name is Elizabeth but no one’s ever called me that.”

This first line of the novel allows the narrator to introduce herself, and it is clear from the very first line that Daisy—in the rejection of her given name of Elizabeth—is striving to redefine her own identity and reclaim her sense of agency in the world. Elizabeth is a very common and classic name, and Daisy rejects many traditional norms over the course of the novel.

“What have I ever said that’s so riveting to anyone but myself? Shrinks don’t count. They listen for cash.”

The cynical tone of this quote creates a clearer sense of Daisy’s character and indicates that she harbors many insecurities and unresolved internal conflicts. Her offhand, contemptuous reference to “shrinks” also indicates that professional attempts to help her to improve her mental health have been largely unsuccessful.

“Do you ever think about dying? Edmond asked me, talking on a tangent. And I said Yes, all the time but mostly as a way of making other people feel guilty.”

This quote introduces the novel’s focus on The Presence of the Dead even as it highlights some of the psychological conflicts at work in Daisy’s mind. Her oblique admission that she destroys her own physical health as a way of retaliating against her family reveals the true depths of her emotional distress and disordered eating. The passage also demonstrates several hallmarks of Rosoff’s unique narrative style. Because it is devoid of quotation marks or commas, the dialogue blends into Daisy’s own thoughts, creating the sense that the entire novel is essentially a