by Lisa Alther
First published 1984
Carolyn Kelly has spent her career caring for others. At 35, the dedicated nurse discovers she cannot heal herself. Her own wounds run too deep. She makes a choice that goes against every instinct. She walks into the office of Hannah Burke, a psychotherapist, ready to excavate memories she has buried for decades. The sessions become a battlefield. Carolyn resists. She deflects. She wants to flee. But Hannah pushes her to stay present with the pain. Each meeting forces Carolyn deeper into her history, toward the sources of damage she has carried silently. The work demands everything from her. She must decide whether facing her demons is worth the agony of remembering what she has fought so hard to forget.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, contemporary, psychological-thriller, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: emotional-journey, unreliable-narrator
336 pages · Hardcover · Knopf
Content warnings: mental-illness