When Joel approaches Gail to ask what psychologists think moths mean in dreams, she’s reading an old paperback novel. When he sits down at the table, we see the title: Earth Abides. Earth Abides by George R. Stewart, published all the way back in 1949. Alexander Ludwig and Jessica Frances Dukes as Ish and Emma in Earth Abides. But both of those scenes are set far after this flashback with Gail: there’s plenty of time for her to finish Earth Abides and take its message to heart.