Memory and Identity in Good Spirits by B.K. Borison

Thematic Claim: Memory as the Scaffold of Identity

In Good Spirits, memory is not a passive archive but an active, often painful force that shapes who the characters become. Harriet York and Nolan Callahan both must revisit their pasts to understand their present selves—Harriet to heal childhood wounds that left her feeling invisible, and Nolan to recover a human life he has forgotten across a century of ghostly existence. The novel argues that identity is built from the stories we carry about ourselves, and that true growth requires confronting those stories, sifting through loss, and choosing anew.

Tracing the Theme Through the Plot

Harriet’s First Glimpse: The Train Garden

The first memory Nolan takes Harriet to is the lobby of her parents’ law firm, where a Christmas train garden runs. As an adult, Harriet watches her younger self with her sister Samantha. Her mother scolds the little girl for lingering, saying, “You’re too old to be playing with trains.” Harriet feels the sting of being a disappointment—a feeling she has carried her whole life. She recalls that her mother always made her wear matching dresses and demanded proper behavior. In this memory, Harriet steals a small wooden boat, a detail she had forgotten. Nolan calls her a “right little beastie,” but the theft is a desperate grab for wonder in a cold, controlling environment. This scene establishes that Harriet’s identity as someone who “doesn’t fit” began in childhood, reinforced by parents who valued appearances over affection. The memory also hints at her relationship with Samantha, who is praised as the “good” sister, deepening Harriet’s sense of inadequacy.

Nolan’s Fragmented Past

Nolan begins the story as a weary ghost who can barely recall his own human life. He has flashes: “Robin’s-egg blue. Sea-glass green. Pale, pale pink. Waves lapping at the side of a ship and a church bell, somewhere in the distance. A lighthouse on the shore.” These fragments are all that remain of a man who once loved and was loved. But as he spends time with Harriet, his magic begins to pull them into his own memories rather than hers. In Chapter 19, they jump to a winter night in 1902, where they see a younger Nolan reading by candlelight. Later, in Chapter 20, they visit a memory of him eating soup alone while his mother Caoimhe knits and sings, and a candle in the window marks a family tradition of guiding sailors home. For Nolan, remembering is painful but also restorative. He tells Harriet that remembering is easier with her there. His identity as a ghost had been reduced to a function—haunting the worst of humanity—but reconnecting with his past allows him to become a person again, one capable of love and choice.

The Mistletoe Memory and the Fear of Not Being Chosen

In Chapter 18, Harriet and Nolan revisit a memory from her teenage years. She is crying in the Crow’s Nest after being humiliated by a boy named Tommy Hildenbrand, who laughed at her under mistletoe and said she would “never be anyone’s choice.” Her aunt Matilda comforts her, offering potpie and a plan to toilet-paper Tommy’s house. This memory crystallizes a core wound: Harriet has always felt she must earn love by being the right kind of person. She changed her hair and style for her ex-boyfriend Brent, hoping to win her mother’s approval. Nolan later tells her that the past Harriet looked “contained,” while the real Harriet is “boundless.” That word—boundless—gives her a new name for her true self. The memory shows how identity can be warped by rejection, but also how a single loving voice (Aunt Matilda) can plant seeds of resilience.

The Soulmate Revelation: Memory as Destiny

The climax of the theme arrives in Chapter 38, when Isabella and Aunt Matilda reveal that Nolan’s “unfinished business” was never a compass but Harriet herself. Every memory they visited, every coincidence (the boat, the fig jam, the songs), was engineered to bring them together across time. This reframes the entire experience: memory is not random; it is a thread that connects soulmates. Nolan’s forgotten human life and Harriet’s childhood hurts were all leading to this reunion. When Nolan is given the choice to move on or return to Harriet, he chooses her, and his identity is no longer that of a ghost but of a man who has found his purpose in love.

Symbol Connections

• Compass – Nolan initially believes his unfinished business is a compass, but it is actually Harriet. The compass symbolizes the search for direction; Nolan’s journey is not about finding an object but about finding his place in the world through love.
• Mistletoe – For Harriet, mistletoe represents humiliation and rejection. When Nolan manifests mistletoe over them after their first kiss, he reclaims the symbol as one of choice and affection. The kiss is not forced; it is freely given.
• Candle in the Window – In Nolan’s memory, his mother places a candle in the window to guide sailors home. Later, Harriet blows out the candle Nolan left, believing he is gone, but he returns. The candle symbolizes hope and safe return, a tradition that bridges the living and the dead.
• Fig Jam – Harriet brings fig jam from the past into the present, allowing Nolan to taste it. This tangible link between past and present illustrates how sensory details can revive lost memories and emotions.

Complexity and Contradiction

The novel acknowledges that memory can be unreliable and painful. Nolan has forgotten almost everything about his human life, and even when he remembers, the emotions are sharp and disorienting. Harriet’s memories of her parents are largely negative, yet she eventually recognizes that their love, though flawed, existed. The afterlife bureaucracy—Isabella’s system—claims to be infallible, but the truth is that it manipulates memories for a predetermined outcome. This raises questions: Are we free to form our own identities, or are we guided by forces beyond our control? The book resolves this by giving Nolan a genuine choice, suggesting that identity is finally determined not by the past but by the decisions we make in the present.

Study Questions and Answers

1. How does Harriet’s first memory (the train garden) shape her sense of self?
The memory shows Harriet as a child who is chastised for being curious and joyful. Her mother’s dismissive words reinforce a belief that she doesn’t fit in. This early wound leads her to become a people-pleaser who tries to be small and invisible. The stolen boat is her small act of rebellion, a hint of the “boundless” nature Nolan later recognizes.

2. Why is Nolan unable to remember his human life at the start?
A century of haunting the worst of humanity has worn away his personal memories. He exists only as a function—a ghost who observes others’ pasts but has none of his own. His memory loss is both a defense mechanism and a symptom of emotional atrophy.

3. What role does Aunt Matilda play in Harriet’s identity?
Aunt Matilda is the one adult who loves Harriet unconditionally. In the mistletoe memory, she validates Harriet’s pain and offers comfort without judgment. Matilda’s example teaches Harriet that love can be gentle, and that she deserves to be seen. After Matilda’s death, Harriet struggles to maintain that self-worth.

4. How does the symbol of the candle in the window connect memory and identity?
The candle represents a family tradition of guiding loved ones home. For Nolan, remembering his mother placing the candle restores a lost part of his identity as a son and a member of a family. For Harriet, blowing out the candle is an act of letting go, but Nolan’s return proves that some bonds transcend physical presence.

5. Does the novel suggest that identity is fixed or changeable?
The novel ultimately argues that identity is changeable. Harriet grows from a woman who feels like a disappointment to one who accepts her boundless nature. Nolan shifts from a directionless ghost to a man who chooses love. Memory informs identity, but choice—especially the choice to love and be loved—allows transformation.