What happens in Chapter 17 of Walk Two Moons?
Chapter 17, "In the Course of a Lifetime," follows Sal and her grandparents as they continue their road trip to Lewiston, Idaho, while Sal picks up the story of Phoebe Winterbottom. In Phoebe's life, the mysterious notes left on the Winterbottom doorstep become increasingly unsettling — this chapter's message reads, "In the course of a lifetime, what does it matter?" The phrase weighs heavily on Phoebe, who brushes it off as nonsense, but Sal quietly reflects on it, sensing a deeper truth within. At the same time, Sal thinks about her mother's departure and the little, everyday moments she overlooked before they slipped away — like the specific way her mother hummed or the scent of her hair. The chapter also paints a richer picture of Gram and Gramps on their journey: Gram's awe at the scenery stands in contrast to Sal's inner sorrow, and a roadside break allows Gramps to show a moment of gentle, unspoken affection for his wife. Back in Euclid, Phoebe's suspicion of the "lunatic" — the young man who showed up on her porch — grows stronger, and she pulls Sal into her makeshift detective work, which Sal endures with a mix of weariness and fondness.
Analysis
Sharon Creech introduces the chapter's anonymous message — "In the course of a lifetime, what does it matter?" — as a thematic anchor, allowing every scene to resonate with it. Initially, the line might come off as nihilistic; Phoebe interprets it this way, reacting against its seemingly dismissive tone. However, Creech subtly reshapes its meaning through the accumulation of details: Sal's grief is built from small moments that, over a lifetime, appeared insignificant — a hum, a scent, a glance. The chapter suggests, without explicitly stating, that these micro-moments constitute a lifetime.
The dual-narrative structure serves a clear purpose here. Phoebe's storyline acts as a comic diversion — her theatrical suspicion of the "lunatic" is played for gentle irony — while Sal's internal thoughts carry the novel's emotional weight. Creech employs free indirect discourse to blur the distinction between Sal's current narration and her memories, making the road trip and the Euclid flashback feel less like separate tales and more like two perspectives illuminating the same wound.
Gramps's silent affection for Gram at the roadside stop is a notable craft choice: Creech entirely omits dialogue, allowing gestures to convey the scene's emotion. This aligns with the novel's broader theme of love as action rather than mere words. The chapter shifts tonal registers three times — comic, elegiac, and quietly hopeful — within twenty pages, a compression that highlights Creech's skill throughout the novel.
Key quotes from Chapter 17
“In the course of a lifetime, what does it matter?”
The anonymous message left on the Winterbottom doorstep, which Sal repeats to herself long after Phoebe has dismissed it.
“I wondered what it would be like to be Phoebe, to see lunatics and danger everywhere around you.”
Sal reflects on Phoebe's fearful imagination, a moment of self-aware distance that also hints at Sal's own suppressed anxieties.
“Everything seemed to be rustling and alive, and I wondered if my mother had felt that — if the world had rushed in on her all at once.”
Sal, watching the landscape roll past the car window, projects her longing onto her absent mother in one of the chapter's most lyrical passages.
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Create an accountSign inVocabulary in Chapter 17
- in the course of a lifetime
- Over the full span of a person's life; used to suggest that certain experiences or changes happen gradually and inevitably as time passes.