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Liepman Literary Agency
Marc Koralnik |
| Original language | |
| English | |
THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU
For fans of dark and powerful family dramas comes THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU, a complex character-driven story that explores how we are tied to each other, how you can't outrun grief, and how sometimes, it's your turn to take care of your family.
THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU is narrated by 21-year-old Melony Barnett who is trying to come to terms with the reality that her mother murdered her father and her father's girlfriend.
The story begins in April 1994, nearly three years after the murders and a few months after Mel has returned from traveling in the American Southwest in an attempt to escape her family circumstances. Her mother is now in a women's prison, although Mel refuses to take her calls or respond to her letters. Mel's older brother, Matt, who dropped out of university and altered his plans in order to help their mother through her trial, is married and has an infant daughter in Norbury, where Mel also lives now.
When Mel discovers during her job working with the library archives that Sophie is actually her father's girlfriend's stepsister she learns a deep lesson in empathy, acceptance and forgiveness while also realizing that her brother has not told her the whole truth about the circumstances leading to her abusive father's murder.
Meanwhile, Matt is slowly slipping into a long-delayed breakdown. When Matt is hospitalized after a suicide attempt and Mel learns about his feelings of responsibility because their mother told him her plans and he did nothing, Mel realizes that she must take on his role as caregiver. When their mother is injured in a prison altercation and needs support, Mel must decide whether or not to come to terms with her mother despite her anger and unresolved feelings about her past.
THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU explores the helplessness many of us feel as we watch world and personal events we are powerless to control and the need to either step forward to do what we can or retreat in order to heal.
LAUREN CARTER is the author of the novel SWARM, named by CBC as one of forty books that could change Canada. Her short story was selected by John Metcalf for inclusion in 15: Best Canadian Stories. A transplanted Ontarian, she lives near Winnipeg, Manitoba. Visit her online at Laurencarter.ca.
The story begins in April 1994, nearly three years after the murders and a few months after Mel has returned from traveling in the American Southwest in an attempt to escape her family circumstances. Her mother is now in a women's prison, although Mel refuses to take her calls or respond to her letters. Mel's older brother, Matt, who dropped out of university and altered his plans in order to help their mother through her trial, is married and has an infant daughter in Norbury, where Mel also lives now.
When Mel discovers during her job working with the library archives that Sophie is actually her father's girlfriend's stepsister she learns a deep lesson in empathy, acceptance and forgiveness while also realizing that her brother has not told her the whole truth about the circumstances leading to her abusive father's murder.
Meanwhile, Matt is slowly slipping into a long-delayed breakdown. When Matt is hospitalized after a suicide attempt and Mel learns about his feelings of responsibility because their mother told him her plans and he did nothing, Mel realizes that she must take on his role as caregiver. When their mother is injured in a prison altercation and needs support, Mel must decide whether or not to come to terms with her mother despite her anger and unresolved feelings about her past.
THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU explores the helplessness many of us feel as we watch world and personal events we are powerless to control and the need to either step forward to do what we can or retreat in order to heal.
LAUREN CARTER is the author of the novel SWARM, named by CBC as one of forty books that could change Canada. Her short story was selected by John Metcalf for inclusion in 15: Best Canadian Stories. A transplanted Ontarian, she lives near Winnipeg, Manitoba. Visit her online at Laurencarter.ca.
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Book
Published by Freehand Books |