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Are we exposed by, defined by, the worst thing we’ve ever done? Do our actions teach the world how to label us, hate us, mistrust us — or are we better than that, all of us, people who are struggling, who mess up (often royally), who often mean well, but for various reasons, can not, will not, do not follow through.
Penitence is a sobering look at all of these questions, — and a book that is not afraid to visit some very dark places in doing so. Tackling topics like addiction, violence, mortality, trauma and disease, the author takes us into the world of Angie Sheehan, a not-always-likable mother of two, married to an equally often unappealing national park ranger, David, and their lives in a picturesque ski-town in fictional Lodgepole, Colorado.
Angie, an artist, sandwiched between spending her time caring for her Alzheimer’s ridden mother, Livia, as well as her two children, Nico and Nora, is also still mourning the worst thing that ever happened to her — the long-ago death of her sister Diana, at age seven.
But all of that is about to change, when an even bigger, cataclysmic and totally unseen event rocks Angie and David’s world — changing the landscape of their lives, along with that of their small town, forever.
Written by a first-time author, (herself a former counsel), we will soon meet Martine, a seventy-two year old small-town lawyer, who is tall, and tired, but will find a way to throw in her support, both professionally and compassionately for Angie and David. Martine, who is the mother of Julian, a high-powered criminal defense attorney living in NY, will undertake a case (with her son’s help) that is emotionally searing and almost doomed to failure.
A slow-burn read, this thoughtful and well-crafted book is as compelling as it is devastating.
With an inside look into an un-nuanced legal system that is thoroughly chilling, this is a book a reader will find hard to put behind them, particularly in these troubling times.
A great big thank you to #Netgalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC of this book. All thoughts presented are my own.
