Raised in a primitive one-room farmhouse with no indoor plumbing, the fourth of five children, Catherine Marenghi begins her life in poverty and isolation. She leaves home at the age of seventeen. A decade later, she is a successful journalist with the means to buy her family their first decent house. But the past will not be put to rest so easily. Catherine unravels a web of long-buried family secrets, and a terrible betrayal that robbed her family of the home that was rightfully theirs. And she finally uncovers the story her parents never shared: the gladiolus farm that was once their dream.
I enjoy reading memoirs but they can also be a bit dry. I could not put this one down. I am about the same age as the author and cannot imagine growing up in the environment she did. And how the family remained positive and loving through all of that is amazing. Jimmy Carter's comment on the back rings true - "reminds us of the role our habitats play in shaping our lives".
somewhat sad that all she found out about her family in the end was after her mom passes, and unable to answer all the questions I' m sure she had. But we are all like that I think - - we don't ask the questions of our elders while they are around and able to share family history.
definitely a book to read!