You’ve heard people say, “Sorry I’ve been out of touch.. Life got in the way…” Well for this Bookisshh reader it most certainly has. As a card-carrying member of the “Sandwich Generation” I have been smushed between a lot of things and the thing most pressing is the changing status of my mom’s wellbeing. As I write this my mom is between rehab and hospice and she is fighting for her life. It pains me to write this but mom is leaning into losing. This summer has been hard and painful for mom and our family but we continue to surround her with love, laughter and purpose.

I’d like to share that my mom 88 1/2 years of time has lived through 15 presidencies and will hopefully live to cast her vote for the 1st Woman President during a contentious time for Women’s rights. Voting means something to my mom and my family. And though the ballot options may not always be the ones we wish them to be, VOTING MATTERS because VOTING is the life force of our Democracy. You don’t know my mom, you might have a para-social impression of me, but you hopefully live in a Democracy that needs your participation, so please get out your vote and do not let life get in the way.

Western Lane by Chetna Maroo / Fiction

This slim book is among the quietest interrogations of grief I have experienced. It has also been on the long and shortlists of all of the international literary prizes that I follow most notably the Booker and The Women’s Prize. Western Lane most certainly belongs on these lists and a list that celebrates debut authors as well. Maroo really hits it out of the squash court with Western Lane.

The story begins with a brief mention of the passing of a mother leaving 3 daughters and a husband behind. The family of migrant people resides in Edinburgh, Scotland and their origin is from India, so they are a small community with a strong social network of family and friends.

At first the daughters fall into roles that birth order might dictate and as grief goes unprocessed those roles become confusing and toxic. Add to this, an uncle and aunt who have no children live nearby, and hope to bring the youngest daughter into their home to live with them.

There are many reasons the daughters wish for this not to happen, but it’s expressed more in actions both individually and collectively how they feel about this. The oldest daughter becomes a breadwinner, the middle daughter loses herself in middle-dom and suffers depression and anxiety while the youngest becomes the star and glue for the family because she is a brilliant squash player. The family spends an inordinate amount of time at Western Lane— the name of the squash courts— because it’s easier than being at home. The father becomes obsessive about producing a squash champion and neglects providing for his family and his feelings about losing his wife and their mom. Their dad goes to the brink of this depression but family and friends help this little family through..

The family does not entirely fall apart, rather they fall together as people grow and change. Their mom is with them metaphorically and sort of supernaturally as they try to process their grief. What is further rewarding is the people who enter one’s life to chaperone one away from despair in simple and complex ways. Quite heartening really. You might tear up, cry a little. You’ll be ok because the emotional permissions this family and culture practice are different than the high stakes HBO dramatizations people stream for catharsis and entertainment.

Read this book… It’s not a bad idea to walk a little with grief. Everyone will have a season with themselves if they love someone and are loved.

Western Lane by Chetna Maroo is a backlisted book so you can buy it used or request it from your library. Please do and enjoy.