By
T. Greenwood
Nearer Than the Sky recounts the
story of generations of a family’s grief.
Indie
Brown has a secure and happy adult life. Suddenly she is drawn back to her
family home when her infant niece becomes seriously ill. Once home, Indie
suspects her sister Lily is harming her own baby. As the story unfolds, Indie
comes to the realization that their mother was behind Lily’s own sickly
childhood.
There
have been cases in the media and legal system regarding Munchausen Syndrome by
Proxy. This is a complex mental illness where the person affected, usually the
mother, causes harm to her child. This brings attention to the child, but also
to herself. She becomes addicted to the sympathy and attention. Obviously, there are inevitable lifelong consequences.
This
book is well written in its handling and explanation of the disorder. The
treatment and respect of the characters is also well done. Their relationships
are tightly woven, exposing the fragile nature of mental illness, especially
within mother-daughter relationships.
T.
Greenwood handles a sensitive situation well, exposing a little discussed
problem in a natural and realistic manner.
I have rad so many great things about this author!
ReplyDeleteIt is so hard for me to fathom this kind of behavior, how very ill the mother must be to harm her own child to generate attention, one can only begin to guess what kind of emotional damage is done, not to mention the physical. Sometimes it doesn't get discovered until too late. I think to read it in a work of fiction would help me see into the minds and hearts of the characters without the personal feelings of anger, and maybe I could learn to understand. What a difficult story to write, the author must be amazing. I know this will be a good read!
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