Which is the author's design. Catharsis is intended to be commercial fiction, but it also explores serious themes. I was also very interested in the role personal choices play in shaping people's fates. My experience taught that going forward requires letting go of the past, which is a cathartic endeavor. There seemed the makings of a good story in that, one many people can relate to, given the unprecedented scale and pace of change that now pervades all of our lives.
Catharsis is the result.
If you had tapped me on the shoulder ten years ago, and told me I'd now be a paralegal, have a college degree, and be publishing a novel, I would've dismissed you as nuts. And, probably, another catharsis or two awaits.