Unique and beautifully written story of a narcissistic mother who at age 75 decides to exit the world through suicide as a coup against aging. Saying she didn't want to be a burden, she leaves behind a host of burdens for her adult daughter, not the least of which is 45 years of diaries and secrets.
For readers interested in fraught mother-daughter relationships and the radically different narratives family members can have about truth, life, and the way we choose to present ourselves to the world, and ultimately how a child can emancipate herself while also remaining connected to the mother who once controlled her.
Book Club members will have no end of themes to discuss: mothering, parenting, domestic violence, higher education, natural birth, travel, divorce, assisted suicide, therapy, cultural insight, generational secrets, corrosive grief, optimism. Book Group Questions are included in the book.
Susannah Kennedy has communities and relatives throughout the United States and Germany. She has strong San Francisco Bay Area ties. Currently she is based in Marin County but also has lived in Santa Cruz County.
"Some of the most honest, heartfelt, beautiful creative nonfiction I have ever read, both as an editor and as a reader." Liza Olson, editor of (mac)ro(mic)
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