rabck from MyssCyn; Told mostly from the perspective of 8 yo Tillie, the novel explores the toll that mental illness takes on a family. Free spirit Mara, who is likely also bipolar, married a stingent military man. Their son, Phil, is mostly like Dad. But Tillie is artistic and free-spirited also. She loves the way her mother takes care of her, and is too young to realize that eating Twinkies for breakfast, not doing any chores, and having her ruby cup at night which puts her to sleep (because Mom is drugging her) isn't right. So, when the family moves to DC to Dad's new job, Mom disappears and the kids are left to fend for themselves. Tillie finds Mom a year later, in a room in the basement. Tillie assumes it's because Dad locked her away, instead of dealing with her mental illness....but after Mom's suicide, she realizes that Mom locked herself away in the basement because she was afraid. I liked this one sentence thought by Tillie as an adult at the end of the book: "The power of suicide, the thing that makes it particularly poisonous, is that it lets one person have the last say without giving others a chance to respond." ( )

I loved the author's voice in this story. It was a tough read due to the topic but I felt it was worth the pain. I look forward to reading more by Susan Henderson. ( )

I loved the author's voice in this story. It was a tough read due to the topic but I felt it was worth the pain. I look forward to reading more by Susan Henderson. ( )

Family saga about a young woman--Tillie--who suddenly goes into premature labor. Her husband is away on a business trip and she ends up calling her Dad to come help her get to the hospital--even though she hasn't spoken to him in years. The story then flashes back to scenes from her troubled childhood growing up with a free-spirited but severely depressed mother and a Military "by the book" father. After a family move, the mother disappears for a while--only to be discovered later, but Tillie, living in hiding in the basement. She rejoins the family on the main floor but is her fragile personality can't stand up to the tirades of their father. Tillie's struggles in both the present and the past are heart wrenching and make for a compelling read (or listen), but the ending is ambiguous and it's the kind of story that may leave the reader feeling unsatisfied at the end. ( )

Goed geschreven verhaal vanuit het perspectief van de 8 jarige Tillie. Zij probeert uit alle macht haar moeder, die psychisch ziek is, bij het gezinsleven te betrekken. Maar dat werkt niet altijd even goed. Als haar moeder na een verhuizing weg is, weet Tillie niet wat ze moet doen. Ze blijft zoeken in de hoop haar moeder terug te vinden. ( )