The Unspoken Years — Lynne Hugo

"She was always crazy. Looking back, I see no doubt about it. It was a deceptive craziness, though, sometimes luminous and joyful. Even when it was, my brother and I knew it was important not to relax...."

Sometimes things -- no matter how hard a woman tries -- can't be fixed.

Ruth -- from childhood to young womanhood -- struggled to come to terms with her mother's often incomprehensible ways, sure that if she were good enough, tried hard enough, she would be able to save her mother from hurt and keep her family intact. If love were powerful enough, it could bring reason to the unreasonable, couldn't it?

Evan -- the man who convinced Ruth she needed more, if only she'd reach for it. But he never expected that his love for Ruth would be something she had to pay so dearly for.

Elizabeth -- "mother" -- the keeper of secrets.