So I guess I should look closer at the description of books I read. From the cover I thought I was going to be reading a dog story - NOT. I really don't like to write negative reviews but this story just did not work for me. It danced around a home that was broken through lies and cover-ups for years, forging a wall between siblings and even siblings and their mother.

Helen is a mother of 4, three girls and a boy; she is a widow and she is addicted to alcohol. Her life is lonely and void of happy times and thoughts brought on by her own depression and memories. Driving under the influence Helen has a car accident that renders her unable to live by herself for a while and in need of assistance. Not having the funds available to afford in-home care, she is forced to reside with one of her daughters, Geneva. There was not a member of this extended family that wasn't dealing with mistakes, regrets and misunderstandings.

I found the story slow moving and disjointed. The basis for the broken family was a subject matter that I found disturbing and the actions or non-actions of the mother to be even more difficult to swallow. Just when I thought the story might redeem itself, I flipped the page to see the "acknowledgements". What? No closure - nothing resolved -- just back to the same broken family. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but for this reader, this story line was broken as the house. Oh well - can't win them all.