by Meredith Hall
In 1965, Meredith Hall found herself scared, pregnant and completely alone. Shunned by her family, friends and entire community, she hides at her father's house for months until she gives birth to a baby boy and immediately gives him away. Hall writes vividly of the pain, loneliness and guilt caused by the shunning and of the complete emptiness she felt after giving up her baby, the one person who had not deserted her. Meredith's life was never the same; she was always an outcast and loner after that, never quite fitting in with other young people, even if they didn't know her secret. Many years later, she reunites with her son, now an adult, who was adopted by a nearby family and abused. Despite their painful past, they attempt to form a strained and tentative bond. Meredith also spends years trying to repair her relationships with her family, especially her mother who needs help 24/7 as her body and mind are ravaged by MS.
I really wanted to like this book and I understand that the author went through a terrible ordeal. However, this entire book is just incredibly bleak and sad; I cannot remember a single moment of happiness or hope. The shunning is mentioned so many times that it begins to feel very repetitious. I don't know if I could forgive people who treated me the way Hall's family and friends treated her. I honestly don't think I could have spent years caring for a mother who had completely abandoned me but maybe Hall is a better person than I am. You almost wouldn't believe it if this wasn't a memoir.
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