Lois Spencer

In the Language of My Country Lois Spencer

A cold winter morning. A woman shivering before a fireplace. A sheriff's car waiting outside. Too young to understand her mother's depression and need for treatment, the narrator can only look on: "Before the door closed, I got a glimpse of the long, black car with its plumes of exhaust and my parents in the backseat." Tracing one strand of ancestry from the Mayflower and another from sixteenth century Paris to Appalachia, the stage is set for a compelling read, told first through the eyes of an observant child in a world of troubled adults and later through an adolescent who juggles "normal" teenage life with a host of personal demons. As a young woman, she throws away the chance of a lifetime. When a second chance comes along, she makes full use of it, realizing by then that her story is the story of a generation, of other women, just like her: None of us had galloped as we pleased across open fields or reveled in a freedom that defied our gender's history. But we had made it one step closer to goal. The luckiest and most persistent among us would eventually complete the journey, but not without a look over the shoulder and a memory of restraints taken on before we knew we could run like the wind. Vignettes, stand-alone stories, observations and reflections are woven together by a strong narrative voice. Consistently fast-paced and entertaining despite its troubling themes.