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Up From The Blue by Susan Henderson.

"Sometimes a book comes along where you think you know what to expect and then the author up and pulls the world out from under your feet. An unflinching, powerful look at the struggles we all face, emotions, mental health, keeping up appearances, families trying to keep it together and most importantly, people being human, just trying to get by. This was a rough one but it was worth it."

4 Stars. 

Pros: Henderson tackles some seriously difficult issues but she handles it all with grace, poise, and a painfully human voice/The ending gave me goosebumps. 

Cons: The author trying to fit segregation in just seemed kind of forced, like it was an afterthought. 

Full Review: 

Tilly's husband is away on business and the apartment is still filled with boxes, they haven't even had time to plug in the phone. But when labor pains start and she's forced to call upon her estranged Father for help, Tilly's whisked away back to the year she was eight years old and her entire life changed. 

Her Father, a scientist in the Air Force, is intelligent, logical, practical, no-nonsense and not one for whims or flights of fancy. His life is stark, basic and orderly. His wife, Mara, on the other hand, is very much a free spirit. Tilly adores her mother, adores all the colors and handmade crafts that fill up their house. She loves her mothers' stories, her mothers voice, how her mother always tuck her in at night and talks to her until she falls asleep. She is able to look past the days where Momma can't get out of bed, where Momma can't stop crying, where Momma doesn't eat or do anything at all. Tilly's just happy to be around her mother, a warm, loving presence. 

But when Tilly's Father gets a new job at the Pentagon and they move to Washington D.C., everything changes. Tilly is sent to live with her Father's assistant for a few weeks while they get settled in D.C. and when she's finally allowed to return home, excited to see her mother, she's horrified to find that her mother isn't there. As Tilly tries to navigate her new neighborhood, make friends and fit in at school, she tries to start piecing together the mystery of what happened to her mother. 

What she finds is heartbreaking, terrifying and more heart crushing reality than a child should ever have to face. 

This was a tough read. There were times where you wanted to shake Mara, shake her and yell until she snapped out of it. Tell her to be strong if not for herself than for her children, who need a mother. But as someone who struggles with depression, I can understand that it's not as easy as just "snapping out of it." 

I had a feeling this book would not have a happy ending. But at the same time, it had an ending that will stay with me for a very long time. Henderson is a master of subtlety, making you both love and loathe the characters and when you stop and think about it, realizing that they're just like you, they're human, they make mistakes. None of us are perfect. And there were so many times in this book where the hard truths were told but Henderson had a way of just laying it all out, bare bones, no sugar coating, and it hurt to read it but at the same time, it was a cathartic kind of hurt. 

It's impossible to describe this book and that, I think, is what makes it so worthwhile. This one will stay with me for a very long time. 

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