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I got to thinking—when it was too late—you have to reach out to people. To your family, too. You can't just let them sit there, you should put your hand out. If they slap it back, well you reach out again if you care enough. If you don't care enough, you forget about them, if you can.

Gram tries to explain reaching out to Dicey in Chapter 7, just after Dicey has shown Gram her essay and told how Mina defended the essay from Mr. Chappelle's accusations. Again, Gram embeds this in memories of her own past, reflecting first upon the way in which she failed to reach out to her husband, despite the fact that she recognized his unhappiness, and to her children, who drifted away from both of them. Reaching out consists of offering part of yourself, your history, or your emotions to another, as, Gram argues, Dicey did with her essay about Momma. Ironically, Gram's realizations about holding on and reaching out do not come too late. Instead, they come in time for her to reach out and hold on to her grandchildren, and in time for her to teach them their importance.

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