: Flashbacks detail Libby’s time at The Atlantic (or its fictional equivalent), where she was underestimated and eventually quit to write a novel she hasn't touched in two years.
: The narration describes the future not as something to be feared, but as a "lightless void you must walk into blindly". "Fleishman Is in Trouble" Vantablack(2022)
: Toby takes his children to the exhibit to combat his loneliness, finding a visual representation of his own inner void. : Flashbacks detail Libby’s time at The Atlantic
: A recurring theme is that "potential is the enemy of presence"—the characters are so focused on who they could have been that they cannot live in the lives they currently have. Critical Significance "Fleishman Is in Trouble" Vantablack(2022)