First published 1999
Doreen lives in Harvey, Ohio, where her mother claims the town fills up with newly divorced women and their children. The year is 1975, and Doreen's own family joins this growing number when her father moves to Chicago. Her mother, Mama Dot, insists that children don't experience divorce the way adults do, but Doreen sees the truth differently. She watches her beloved younger brother struggle with their father's absence, acting out his pain in multiple ways. Doreen tells their story with sharp wit and raw emotion, observing how divorce reshapes not just her parents' lives but tears through the entire family. As her brother's distress becomes more apparent, Doreen must navigate her own feelings about their father's departure while trying to understand how their family will survive this rupture.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, american-fiction, 20th-century, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: family-drama, slice-of-life
Setting: Harvey, Ohio, Chicago
Period: 1975
108 pages · Paperback · Laurel Leaf