A Cloud in the Shape of a Girl by Jean Thompson

Women hold a family together. They plan the social activities and family gatherings, act as a buffer between butting heads, ease the high emotions of family conflict, and provide the meals for the family table that brings generations together.

It is not an easy job, or an easy life. Especially in families afflicted with personality disorders, addictions, mental illness, anger issues, conflict--or even with the usual garden variety issues common to all families.

A Cloud in the Shape of a Girl by Jean Thompson is about three generations of women who have struggled with holding the family together even when their personal dreams are sacrificed for their family. The characters, Evelyn, Laura, and Grace, are vital and distinct while recalling to mind our own mothers and daughters.

It is a heartbreaking story that spans from WWII to the present, each generation of women hoping to find self-fulfillment and true love yet putting the interests of others first.

Each woman who reads this novel must ask herself in what way has she repeated her mother's life, in what ways has she sacrificed her dreams, and if it was worth it in the end. And do we make these choices out of societal or familial expectation or out of the love we have for our children?

I received a free ebook from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

A Cloud in the Shape of a Girl
by Jean Thompson
Simon & Schuster
Pub Date 09 Oct 2018
ISBN 9781501194368
PRICE $26.00 (USD)