As in Ordinary Life and True to Form, Elizabeth Berg speaks through the lips of children with remarkable sensitivity, as pre-teens Ginny and Sharla tell us about their early years with a “perfect” mother and their lifelong resentment of her leaving them to pursue a successful career as an artist.
The story alternates skillfully between the adult and the childhood memories, evoking our liking and sympathy for a frustrated wife, a bewildered husband and two unforgiving children, recreating their world for us in loving and illuminating detail.
We also carry away its message, that in order to become true adults we must let go of all the bitterness we harbor toward our parents.
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