by Nora Lange
First published 2024
Joanne and Bernadette Fareown grow up on a failing Illinois farm in the 1980s. Their parents fight constantly while debt piles up around them. The sisters turn to books for comfort, reading Greek myths and Virginia Woolf while their community crumbles. They know the stories of cursed women in their family line and wonder if they can escape the same fate. When the farm fails, the Fareowns move to Chicago. Joanne cannot adjust to city life. Her anger grows until she breaks down completely and flees to Deadhorse, Alaska. Bernadette stays behind, carrying everything her wild sister taught her about survival. She must find hope in a world that seems determined to crush people like them. The sisters learned early that the American Dream does not include families like theirs, but they refuse to give up.
Genres: literary-fiction, american-fiction, 20th-century, 21st-century, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, resilience
Setting: Alaska, Chicago, Illinois
Period: 1980s
340 pages · Paperback · Two Dollar Radio
Content warnings: depression