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One of the endorsers of this book was Matthew Thomas, author of the 2014 novel, "We Are Not Ourselves," set partly in Woodside, Queens, where I once lived, and was so heartbreaking I could not wait to finish it, good though it was, and which I do not think I will ever pick up again.
I have to warn more sensitive readers that one could find this book depressing.
The title, which is referenced in a hopeful scene, wants to provide hope. It ends on a somewhat hopeful note, which I could not buy, because by then The Gleeson and Stanhope families have endured so much, and though, they have come through, with each clan's dysfunctional dynamics, I am not sure they are out of the woods yet.
Anne Stanhope, a mentally ill woman, starts out as the Mother From Hell, like Charlotte Bayes, but by the book's end, I had more sympathy for her, and saw her as much a victim, as some of the others, like Francis Gleeson, and the Stanhopes' son, Peter, who endures alcoholism, and disillusion over his life having gone nowhere but the suburbs in which he grew up. That is a tough nut for many to crack. But take it from one who did not end up that way--there are prices to pay for freedom, too.
This novel makes one think about what one has, how content one is, and what could have, or might have been different. The answers come from the reader's learning them through witnessing each family's heartbreaking drama.
Miss Keane chronicles the two families with candor and fully rendered personalities. She tries to wrap things up neatly, but leaves one wondering, where it will go from here. Sure, things may be rosy now, but for how long?
While not quite as heartbreaking as Thomas' book, I do not recommend this for the overtly emotional. There were times I just had to put the book down, and pause.
Which does not mean it is not worth reading. Just that it is emotionally difficult.
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