This Boy's Life Family Quotes

Is Jack admitting defeat here? He basically says that imitating the perfect family—the sort of pretending he tries his whole life—can never work because the truth always creeps in. Then again, this is the grown-up author talking: Toby, not Jack, who presumably knows better.

Interesting: with all of Jack's transformations and changes, he can't change this. Nor does he want to… even if it means getting away from Dwight. His only permanent feature is the one that ties him to his mom.

The hurts don't stop, and carry over into Jack's own family: probably a lot more stable than Dwight's, but with a few of those barbs thrown in.