This book didn't provide any hope or conclude with a happy ending, like so many American stories do. I really appreciated that about this book. The author took four generations of women and showed how their power and choice (or their perception of not having either) forced them to stay in relationships, or return to them, despite the circumstances. Ultimately this taught their daughters to suffer in silence and accept life as it is.

This book is definitely an easy read, as I read it hoping that one of the main characters would have a different outcome (she would never experience any physical abuse). A good novel by a first-time author.