Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
When Alice returns home with Chris from their adventures in San Francisco/Berkeley, her whole family greets her at the airport. She writes of her reunion:
Last night was like reaching heaven. The plane was late but Mom and Dad and Tim and Alexandria were all there to meet me, and we were all crying unashamedly like babies. Gran and Gramps are flying in today to see me and to stay for Christmas. I guess it's the greatest homecoming anyone ever had. I feel like the prodigal son being welcomed back into the fold, and I shall never ever go away again. (115.1)
The prodigal son is a biblical allegory which is covered beautifully, if we may say so ourselves, here (so click that link, yo). Long story short, it's about a dude who has two sons. One goes off to find his fortunes while the other stays home and works his butt off for his dad. When the first son—who has squandered what little money his father gave him and taken debasing jobs when he has no other options—returns, his dad throws him a party and the second son is like, I can't even believe this.
Alice isn't that far off when she compares herself to the son who went away. She took her family for granted, did some sketchy stuff, and when she returns she's still greeted with love, acceptance, and an opportunity for a second chance that probably made her siblings scratch their heads in incredulity, too.