Where to begin. This book had me in its clutches from beginning to end. I cared so deeply for each of the characters. Their pain wrecked me and their joy had me grinning. It was both laugh-out-loud funny, and stunningly heartfelt.

I loved the structure of the story—the way it interlaced the past into the present narrative, giving the reader this slowly blossoming and deepening perspective on the events of the present.

I also really enjoyed the focus on Eva’s maternal ancestry—how we start the book viewing them critically, through the lens of their faults and their contributions to the familial “curse,” but end it with admiration for their resilience amidst a system that didn’t understand them and therefore (quite literally) demonized them. The recurring theme of mother-daughter relationship and the healing of generational trauma was beautiful.

Not to mention the moving depiction of chronic pain, and the impact it has on mental health as well as the harmful coping mechanisms it can inspire. 

Truly, all around, this book is a gift.