This was a thought-provoking book, challenging things I thought I knew much the same way Desai's Inheritance of Loss did. As a parent, I was gripped reading about losing a child and battled my own internal monologues regarding being that out of touch that I didn't see it coming.
Then again, I don't have some of the same complexities that existed for inter-racial couples in the 1970s.
In as much as this is about a family, its secrets, and grief - this is also a book about how crippling living up to expectations can be. It doesn't matter whether those expectations are self-imposed or assumptive based on the world around us. Anything that inhibits our true self and real connections with others can lead to disaster. In this case, it took losing their child before James and Marilyn confronted those things.
(No, this isn't really a spoiler - you learn about Lydia's death very early in the book. And they have two other kids that are alive that are also along for this grief-filled, family coming apart and together journey).
This was a sobering read, and on the heels of some of the other non-fiction I've read in the last couple of months is something I will reflect on.
4 stars. If you like cultural history and fiction combined, then you will probably enjoy this book.
Happy Reading.
--Jennifer
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