"The Sweet Hereafter" is a fictional story by Russell Banks the tells the story of a community's loss of almost all of their children in a motor accident. Narrated by four different characters and their respective point of views, the story delves deep into the school bus accident and it's impact on the lives of the community.
The character of Mitchell Stephens is one of the four narratives of the story. The small mountain community of Canada had just experienced a devastating school bus accident that claimed the lives of almost all of the children. This impacts the whole of the community. And Mitchell Stephens, though not among those parents who lost their kids, also felt a deep sense of sadness like the rest of the other parents. He had a troubled relationship with his own daughter Zoe. He and his wife's divorce has led to Zoe being sent to some boarding school. And she had turned to be a drug addict, constantly asking her father for money. Her dependence on drugs made Stephens feel like he also lost a child, though not physically gone, but still lost. She became the source of his pain and loneliness.
