Life is not a series of isolated ponds and puddles; life is a river. Only in the most literal sense are we born on the day we leave our mother's womb. In the larger, truer sense, we are born of the past - connected to its fluidity, both genetically and experientially. The novel Away is a clear example of how people are connected to the past. It characterizes three generations of a family of women. These women are connected through their experiences. They are all women of extremes; they are passionate about everything they do. They have the characteristic of going away. They follow their hearts into a land