“Mariel felt ashamed that she’d tried to hide what she viewed as a deficiency. It was the shame that was isolating, not the need for support.”

Alternating between the lives of generations of men and women (mostly the women), this novel is about family, love, loss, choices, and restoration. Set primarily in supper clubs and family restaurants, we get an inside peek at multiple generations of two families - where they merge and diverge. There isn’t a serious topic this novel doesn’t address including marriage, community, love, religion, parenting, death, infertility, and pregnancy loss. 

Some parts of the novel resonated deeply with me from experiences I have had (recommend you search for triggers). I was prepared for what happened which helped.  J. Ryan Stradal handled those situations with care - so I was able to cry for the characters and myself. Stradal is great at writing real and ordinary lives with creativity and insight. I will recommend this to friends, being sensitive to losses they may have experienced. 

“I know I wasn’t a good mother. But I’m here now if you still want one.”