Author of many children's books, Karen Mueller Coombs illustrated that “often the right path is the one that may be most difficult to follow. But the most difficult path is the one that will make you grow as a human being” (“Karen Mueller Coombs”, 2013). This statement explains how, no matter what circumstances or experiences a person goes through in life, an individual's character will grow and evolve. This concept is demonstrated in The Kite Runner and The Flying Troutmans. Both main characters show that despite growing up in different situations, their past choices make their characters evolve. Their family complications decrease and the foundation of their family becomes stronger. In The Kite Runner, Amir is a young Pashtun boy with a privileged childhood. Hattie is a character in The Flying Troutmans who is a selfless woman with a difficult family history. The concept of diminishing family complications is evident in both novels as Amir and Hattie find selflessness in the experiences and relationships they encounter, accepting the truth of their realities and empathizing with other members of their family to strengthen their family relationships . Miriam Towes, author of The Flying Troutmans, provides evidence of the main character, Hattie, demonstrating altruistic qualities throughout her childhood, which help strengthen her relationship with her family. Most children focus on games, however, at the age of eight Hattie spent an entire week traveling to different hospital departments to support her mother, father and sister. Hattie demonstrated to her the importance of her family by saying, "Spending twenty minutes, in silence, by the bed, and then spending twenty minutes looking for change in every vending machine... It was really... middle of paper" . …being herself hadn't worked.” (The Flying Troutmans, pg. 214) Hattie understands why Thebes is so upset; she can view Thebes' perspective as she also grew up with Min once. The examples given are about how sympathizing with someone when it is sensitive is crucial to maintaining trust within family bonds. Therefore both The Kite Runner and The Flying Troutmans express how possessing the ability to be selfless, accepting the truth, and knowing how to empathize with others will help avoid complications in family relationships. The audience notices the strength of the characters in the two books. They grow with time and evolve with much more improved personality and well-being. People reflect as they look for ways to benefit and redeem themselves when the real solution is to help those around you will ultimately end up helping you.