What We Keep

Have you ever had a genuine conversation with your mother, daughter, or other family members? A reunion between two sisters and their mother exposes how the secrets and intricacies of the past have influenced the lives of the women in a family in this deep and gratifying new book from the adored bestselling author of Talk Before Sleep and The Pull of the Moon.

Ginny Young is traveling via fly to see her mother, with whom she has not talked or seen in 35 years. She recalls the summer of 1958 as a small kid, together with her sister Sharla. At that point, a series of dramatic incidents split the family, separating the sisters from their mother, starting with the advent of an enigmatic and seductive next-door neighbor. Time travel allows Ginny to see herself as the woman she has become and the girl she once was, finally facing difficult decisions that come with being a woman. She also discovers unexpected facts about the people she thought she knew the best.

This poignant and very fulfilling work by the author who "writes with humor and a big heart about resilience, love, and hope" combines emotional honesty with a genuine knowledge of people and relationships. and the redeeming transcendence" (Andre Dubus).