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Chapter 54
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Same Kind of Different as Me, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Slavery and Racism
Homelessness
Reconciliation
Christian Faith
Charity, Love, and Ego
Summary
Analysis
Before she died, Deborah had told Ron and her kids that they needed to take a trip together after the memorial service to just be together. Following her instructions, Ron, Carson, and Regan are on their way to Big Bend National Park for a week when Ron receives an urgent phone call from Don Shisler. Don explains to Ron that a wealthy couple heard Denver’s story at the memorial service and were so inspired that they made a major donation to the Union Gospel Mission and are raising donations from others as well to build the Deborah Hall Memorial Chapel. Ron and the kids continue on to their remote vacation, overwhelmed by the generosity and spend their time in Big Bend reflecting and processing. When Ron returns, he finds another message from Don Shisler waiting for him.
Deborah’s death becomes the seed of new beginnings and a new period of growth for the Union Gospel Mission. This offers not only meaning to her passing but an avenue for the spirit of her work and her love for the homeless to carry on. In the same way that Ron, Denver, and their community believe that Deborah’s spirit lives on in heaven after death, so too does the spirit of her ministry carry on as well. This seems a continuation of the miracle Ron saw in Denver during the memorial service. While this miracle does not ease the pain, it does offer it some level of meaning.
Themes
