Chapter 7 Summary and Analysis: Songs of Your Decay

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

Aubrey, a forensic scientist at a body farm, opens the chapter by describing her work: she studies how the Arctic plague transforms human bodies after death, comparing strains and tracking mutations. Most of her cadavers arrive nameless, donated by families staying at elegy hotels. Laird is different—he volunteered while still alive, and she has been monitoring the virus in his cells through drug trials. Her scientist heart knows the value of studying his decomposition, but the part of her that listens to music with him late into the night hopes the drugs will work.

Her marriage to Tatsu, an EMT, is strained. They have been married for seven years, but only the first was pandemic-free. Their early fights about whose work matters more—hers with the dead, his with the living—led to a pact to spend more time together, but Aubrey has been coming home late all week. Tatsu calls to suggest dinner, and she brushes him off, saying she will be late again. He sends his regards to Laird.

At the hospital, Laird and his sister Orli are watching television. Orli has just witnessed Laird sign a release form giving Aubrey's lab custody of his body after death. Orli is upset, struggling with how to say goodbye. Laird reassures her he will keep taking his medication and fight through the pain. Aubrey first met Laird nearly a year ago, when he showed up at her lab after watching a documentary about her work. He was desperate to understand his mother's death—she had gone missing during a cross-country drive and was found with organs transformed into approximations of other organs or globs of light. Laird, with a chemistry degree and a music minor, wanted to help others find peace.

Aubrey and Laird have a ritual of listening to music alphabetically on his old iPod. That evening they reach the letter P, and Aubrey requests Patti Smith. They listen for about half an hour until Laird's eyes flutter closed. Outside, Orli confides that she never understood her brother—their parents were hard on them, but Laird did his own thing, from the Peace Corps to leading Duck Tours to helping build seawalls. Aubrey invites Orli to visit the lab the next day.

At home, Tatsu has left spaghetti in the fridge. They barely talk. The next day, Aubrey shows Orli the body farm, where cadavers lie in various states of decay, including a woman in an artificial pond nicknamed Alice. Orli is overwhelmed by the smell and the sight. Aubrey explains that every body is treated with care. Orli mentions Laird's idea that Aubrey will write letters to him after he dies, describing what happens to his body, so Orli can say goodbye. Aubrey is hesitant but agrees.

Aubrey takes Laird to Bodie, a ghost town. They explore a general store museum, pan for gold, eat sandwiches in an old church, and walk the grounds of a long-perished Chinatown. Laird falls asleep in his wheelchair but insists he is having the time of his life. He plays a harmonica. They return late.

That evening, Tatsu invites Aubrey to join him and his coworkers at a barbecue place. She agrees but leaves early after a couple of drinks, feeling disconnected. In her car, she activates self-driving mode and tells it to go to Half Moon Bay, texting Laird. He replies, and they exchange music recommendations. She drives back to the hospital, where she finds Laird alone, on a bedpan. She offers to help, but he declines. After a nurse assists him, they go to the cafeteria for snacks and sit at a picnic table under the stars. They talk about fear, death, and the possibility of alien life. Aubrey holds his hand, and then she kisses him gently—too long to be friendly, too soft to be more than sad. She says she will miss him. He says he will miss this.

Three days later, Orli arrives at the lab with a Chia Pet box. Laird died in the night. She hands Aubrey the box, which contains a key, a photo, his iPod, and a stack of sealed letters with a note to open one each day. Aubrey goes home, locks herself in the bathroom, and reads the first letter. Laird writes that he imagined their outings as dates, and that he is sending the box to her because she is the person he wants to receive it.

At the memorial, only about a dozen people attend. Orli gives a eulogy about her brother's many dreams. A man in chain mail, Sir Godric, speaks about battling with Laird in an online game. Aubrey does not speak. Afterward, she visits Laird's room, where she finds his records, his clippings about the plague, and his mother's autopsy report. She takes the files.

Aubrey buries Laird at the body farm and begins writing letters to him as his body decomposes. She describes the process—the bloating, the insects, the vultures. Tatsu leaves her notes and cooks dinner, but she is distant. He confronts her, saying he is jealous of a dead man. She admits that their problems predate Laird. They sleep apart. The next morning, Tatsu leaves a note asking to talk at the barbecue place. Aubrey does not go. Instead, she returns to the lab, puts on Laird's playlist, and processes his remains, placing his bones in a drawer.

Key Events

Aubrey's work at the body farm and her relationship with Laird, a living volunteer.
Laird signs over his body for research; Orli struggles with the decision.
Aubrey takes Laird to Bodie ghost town.
Aubrey leaves Tatsu's gathering, drives to Half Moon Bay, and texts Laird.
Aubrey and Laird share a late-night picnic and kiss.
Laird dies three days later; Orli delivers a box of letters and his iPod.
Aubrey attends the memorial and visits Laird's room.
Aubrey buries Laird and writes letters as his body decomposes.
Tatsu confronts Aubrey about her obsession; they have a tense conversation.
Aubrey continues processing Laird's remains while listening to music.

Character Development

Aubrey is the chapter's emotional core. She begins as a scientist who studies decay, maintaining professional detachment. Her relationship with Laird breaks through that detachment, forcing her to confront her own grief and loneliness. Her marriage to Tatsu, already strained, deteriorates further as she becomes more invested in Laird's memory. By the end, she is unable to fully engage with Tatsu, choosing instead to remain in the lab with Laird's music.

Laird is portrayed with warmth and acceptance. He faces his death with humor and curiosity, wanting his life to mean something. His letters reveal a deep affection for Aubrey, and his decision to donate his body is both practical and emotional—a way to stay connected to her and to help others.

Orli evolves from skepticism to understanding. She initially worries Aubrey is taking advantage of her brother, but she comes to trust her, visiting the body farm and later the grave. Her grief is palpable, but she finds a way to say goodbye through Aubrey's letters.

Tatsu is shown as trying but failing to bridge the gap. His attempts to reconnect—notes, dinner, a planned talk—are met with Aubrey's emotional absence. His admission of jealousy is a rare moment of vulnerability, but it does not resolve the underlying distance.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Music as connection: The alphabetized playlist is a shared language between Aubrey and Laird, a way to communicate when words fail. Music continues to be Aubrey's companion after his death.
Grief and mourning: The chapter explores different ways of grieving—Orli's tears, Aubrey's letters, the memorial's rituals. The letters to a decomposing body become a form of extended mourning.
Scientific detachment vs. humanity: Aubrey's work requires her to see bodies as subjects, but Laird's presence forces her to see him as a person. The tension between her professional role and her personal feelings is central.
Body donation and legacy: Laird's choice to donate his body is a way to create meaning from death, to make his suffering count for something.
Ghost town symbolism: Bodie, a town abandoned after its mines closed, mirrors Laird's fading life and the emptiness left by the plague. It also represents the past that cannot be reclaimed.
Unspoken love: The kiss and Laird's letters reveal feelings that were never fully articulated, adding a layer of regret and longing.
Pandemic's toll: The chapter shows how the plague has reshaped relationships, work, and rituals of death, from elegy hotels to body farms.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter is pivotal for Aubrey's character arc. It moves her from a detached scientist to a grieving friend, and it exposes the fragility of her marriage. The death of Laird and the subsequent letters create a new emotional landscape that will likely influence her decisions in later chapters. The chapter also deepens the novel's exploration of how people find meaning and connection in the face of a pandemic that has normalized death. The body farm, the letters, and the music all become vehicles for processing loss, making this a meditation on grief and the rituals we create to say goodbye.

Study Questions and Answers

1. How does Aubrey's relationship with Laird differ from her relationship with Tatsu?

Aubrey's connection with Laird is built on shared music, easy conversation, and a mutual understanding of death. With Tatsu, there is history and effort, but also distance and unresolved conflict. Laird represents an escape from the strain of her marriage, a place where she feels seen without the weight of everyday problems. Tatsu, by contrast, is tied to the pandemic's daily toll and the couple's inability to communicate.

2. What role do the letters play in Aubrey's grieving process?

Laird's letters to Aubrey, and her letters to him after his death, create a continuing dialogue that allows her to process her grief. Writing to his decomposing body lets her articulate feelings she cannot express to Tatsu or Orli. The letters also serve as a way to honor Laird's wish that his death have meaning, and they give Orli a way to say goodbye.

3. How does the setting of the body farm contribute to the chapter's themes?

The body farm is a place where death is studied scientifically, stripped of sentiment. It contrasts with the emotional rituals of the memorial and the letters. By burying Laird there, Aubrey merges her professional world with her personal grief, forcing her to confront the physical reality of his death while also maintaining a connection to him through music and memory. The setting underscores the tension between detachment and humanity that runs through the chapter.