How appropriate that the Best Book portion of the “Best Of” month lands on Book Report Friday!
It’s hard to choose my favorite book of 2009. I rededicated myself to reading more this year and, as a result, I read a lot of fantastic books. I also read a lot of really crappy books, but you have to take the good with the bad.
If I had to choose, I suppose that I would have to go with the book that I devoured so thoroughly, it’s currently somewhat water-logged. Getting accidentally dropped into a bathtub will tend to do that (OMG! Book abuse!).
The book is called “Annie’s Ghosts: A Journey Into a Family Secret
The book tells the story of a son’s journey towards discovering the truth behind his mother’s deepest, darkest secret: the existence of her sister. A sister who was born deformed, struggled into her adolescence and was, finally, shut up in a mental hospital where she died in obscurity. Steve Luxenberg always thought it odd that his mother defined herself as an only child, going so far as to introduce herself that way to strangers. “Hi, I’m Beth and I’m an only child.” It was only when he accidentally discovered that his mother had a sister, Annie, that he realized that his family was hiding quite a few secrets. This book details his journey of discovery, delving into past, tracking down old friends, fighting to read medical records.
It starts out as his search for a few answers, “Who was Annie? What happened to her? Why did his Mother pretend that she never existed?” It becomes so much more than that. Ultimately, by airing his own family’s skeletons, Luxenberg tells the story of millions of Americans who were warehoused in similar institutions. The book is about family, about secrets, about shame and redemption. It’s that rare book that touches on half a dozen different themes (at one point he travels to the village in Ukraine that his family comes from) and yet somehow manages to remain cohesive. None of it seems forced. It’s all fascinating.
If you like books with a clear-cut ending, this one might not be for you. Most of the people that Luxenberg should have spoken with died long before he even knew that he had an aunt. His research process is extensive, but he makes it very clear that a lot of his “answers” are really speculation with a fairly large degree of certainty. He’s pretty sure that he understands what happened, but there’s nobody left to confirm his findings. In the end, it’s never even clear if his Dad knew anything about Annie. This is definitely a case where the journey is far more important than the destination.
I found myself drawn into this book, unable to put it down (see: bathtub, dropping in). Partly because I’m fascinated by the history of our mental health system, but mostly because it’s just a damn good read.
I’ll put it on my list!
If you don’t mind reading a slightly soggy copy, you can borrow mine! :p
Hi Hope,
Your blog post made its way to me via Google Alerts… Can I just say that there’s something extra special about unexpectedly learning that your book has been named a stranger’s favorite of the year? Annie’s Ghosts was among 80 nonfiction books to make The Washington Post’s Best Books of 2009 list, but it was the sole choice for yours, and that’s amazing. Thanks. You made my holiday a little brighter, and I hope someone does the same for you!
— Steve Luxenberg
wow steve and hope.
sometime i like the smallness of the universe with the internet
happy holidays indeed!
[…] few months ago, I wrote a blog post about my favorite book that I read in 2009, Annie’s Ghosts. Well, apparently, when you put […]