First published 2001
Even Jackson McLain knows his family carries secrets that run deeper than the Mississippi mud. The young man watches his mother Pearl struggle with memories she won't name while his father retreats into silence. Their small Southern town holds its own buried truths, and Even finds himself caught between loyalty to his family and his need to understand the forces that shaped them. As Pearl's past surfaces in fragments, Even discovers that some family histories demand a reckoning. The McLain family must face what they've hidden from themselves and each other. Haynes crafts a story about the weight of inheritance, the power of unspoken trauma, and the courage required to break cycles that span generations. At its heart, this novel examines how love persists even when families fracture under the pressure of their own secrets.
Genres: literary-fiction, family-life, historical-fiction, 20th-century, 21st-century, family-drama
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: family-secrets, generational-trauma
Setting: Mississippi, Southern Town
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
512 pages · Paperback · Ediciones B
Content warnings: mental-illness