life without love.

Q: There's no mention of Mark having a romantic relationship on Earth. Do you think that makes it easier or harder to endure his isolation? How would the story be different if he was in love with someone back home?

A: According to Reverend Ed Bacon, “You cannot be healthy alone; you cannot heal alone, you cannot flourish alone; you cannot cast off fear alone; you cannot be a lover alone; and you cannot access the Beloved inside you and inside other people alone. Understood from this perspective, we are not a human race, we are the human family.”  This quote relates to Mark’s current situation on Mars, he cannot function properly in the long run alone, especially if he does not have someone back home that he loves or cares about. His time on Mars would be worse, because like Ed Bacon stated, “you cannot be a lover alone.” Being isolated for a long period of time can not only put a huge strain on their love, it could make him paranoid. He has nothing but time on his hands to think about what his partner is doing. If Mark had a romantic relationship back on Earth his thoughts would be clouded with nothing but his significant other. He would not be able to really focus, because love is a strong emotion. In the book, there would be more flashbacks/memories of them on Earth. Little things he experienced or saw on Mars he would automatically find some connection with something his partner would do. During his isolation he would be more lonely, and sad because when you long for someone it’s worse than just being alone. Being lovesick is being in love, or missing someone you care about so much you cannot act normally. I also think the story might show his lover’s point of view at sometime during the book, if they were mentioned. It would probably give more of an insight on his personal life, and things would start to make more sense. We would understand his actions and thoughts more.