No One Is Coming to Save Us by Stephanie Powell Watts

This is a heartbreaking and honest book about the difficulty of being an adult, the difficulty of staying in the town you were raised in, the difficulty in leaving, and the painful ache of trying to return home if you did manage to leave. Sylvia--her kids, her husband, her sister, her kids friend, her son-in-law, her town--are older than they want to be and not at the places they had hoped to go. Everyone struggles with their burdens. Some of them understand that--everyone has burdens--others think they are the only ones suffering. Just like the burdens, both are true because no matter how much everyone has burdens, yours are your own (and often your own fault) and that isolation makes your suffering very lonely.

The writing is lovely--sharp, detailed, atmospheric, and sad. These people have worked hard, yet here they are, the same place they were. There are universal observations, sly commentary on the economics of small town life, and observant and wise descriptions of the pain we cause ourselves and others, even if we don't mean to hurt anyone. Sylvia is not a character I can say I understood or recognized, but she is incredible and will stay with me a long, long, long time. This is Sylvia's book, but all of the characters are fully formed and feel very real. That characters that are not central to the story, still are carefully crafted, believable, and necessary. It all adds up to a fantastic, heartbreaking, and wonderful story of a family.

Recommended by Cynthia Lambert
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