From Booklist
Leigh
grew up in a poor, unstable, peripatetic family that traveled back and forth
between California and West Virginia while pursuing one failed enterprise after
another, trying to hold together through the father's drinking and occasional
violence. She captures the fear of children who live with physical abuse, the
strategies for keeping peace, and the plotting of escape routes once a fight
breaks out. In this searing memoir, Leigh recalls that when she was eight years
old, her pregnant mother left to give birth to a fourth child but returned
three weeks later with no baby. Told that the baby died, Leigh is haunted by
the conviction that her sister is actually alive. The family separated for a
while--each of the children farmed out to relatives--and later reunited, but a
breach continued, as though something was missing. As she comes of age, Leigh
painfully realizes that her family has kept secrets and told lies, but she also
learns to respect her mother's decision as well as her own right to know the
truth. Vanessa Bush
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