Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death.

In Pax, Journey Home, Sara Pennypacker explores the nature of grief and the grieving process through the human protagonist, Peter. As the novel begins, Peter has lost both parents and is separated from his pet fox, Pax. This makes him hesitant to build new bonds, whether with Vola as a mother figure, with Ben as a friend, or even with a new pet. Peter believes that forming new connections would increase the possibility of loss and pain, so he decides that an isolated life is the best way to avoid it. Peter’s journey throughout the book involves moving from isolation to a new understanding that connection and community are essential to healing from his grief.

When Peter joins the Water Warriors, he meets Samuel, who initially followed the same plan that Peter has decided to follow. He tells Peter that after the death of his brother, “[he’d] been drifting. [He’d] dumped [his] family, burned all [his] friends. [He] kind of stumbled into the military” (96). In the military, Samuel found himself renewed through the connections he built in the community.