Monday 18 February 2019

Review: Forgiveness Road by Mandy Mikulencak



n this powerful and ultimately uplifting new novel set in 1970s Mississippi, the acclaimed author of The Last Suppers tells of three generations of women whose lives are thrown into upheaval when a dark secret is brutally exposed . . .

On a hot, humid July morning, sixteen-year-old Cissy Pickering calmly and deliberately shoots her father in the back.

To their Mississippi community, the death of well-regarded attorney Richard Pickering is a fascinating scandal. To Cissy's distraught mother, Caroline, it's an unforgivable crime. But in Cissy's troubled mind, killing her father was the only way she knew to save the two people she loves most in the world. For years, Cissy has endured a devil's bargain with her father, hoping that he would leave her younger sisters alone if she kept his abuse to herself. When that thin trust shattered, she saw no other choice.

Janelle Clayton, the family's matriarch, has kept her distance from her daughter, Caroline--a fact she now regrets--yet she hopes to do right by her granddaughter. Cissy has always been an unusual girl, given to compulsive counting and list-making, but Janelle believes her implicitly. When Cissy is remanded to the Greater Mississippi State Hospital, a caring psychiatrist tries to help, yet new revelations drive Cissy to retreat even further from reality. It will fall to Janelle, despite her own failing health, to become Cissy's advocate and rescuer. And over the course of an unlikely road trip, Janelle and Cissy will confront the truths they've hidden from the world and themselves, finding courage, deep-rooted resilience, and a bond tender and tough enough to transform them both.
 

Hardcover, 304 pages
Expected publication: February 26th 2019 by John Scognamiglio Book

Terri's Thoughts

** I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you**

This story covers some pretty serious topics ranging from sexual abuse, mental health and racial boundaries in the 1970's.  Naturally I had to read it.

I went through several emotions while reading this, disgust, pity, and sadness being some of the predominant ones.  I felt disgust for what happened to Cissy and for the way her mother treated her when the truth came out.  Pity for Cissy who suffered in silence and for her journey in a mental health facility.  Sadness for Janelle for well, pretty much everything.

This is not a story that will give you the warm and fuzzies.  It deals with serious subject matters and while well written, is a heavy read due to the subject matter.  My only item for contemplation was the way Cissy was portrayed.  I couldn't decide if she really did have mental health issues and was written that way, or if her oddities were just coping mechanisms as she read as someone much younger than she really was.  I guess the two are closely linked so it doesn't really matter much.

While not a lot of good is written about in this book, I do have to say that I absolutely loved the ending.  The whole time I was reading this I was wondering how there would be a clean way to conclude the story.  I can say that Mikulencak nailed it!



About the Author


Mandy Mikulencak has been a writer her entire working life. First, as a journalist, then as an editor and PR specialist for two national nonprofits and a United Nations agency. Today she lives in the mountains of Southwest Colorado with her husband. Her historical novel, THE LAST SUPPERS, was released by Kensington Publishing in late 2017. Her next book, FORGIVENESS ROAD, comes out in March 2019. 



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