The first chapter of Life Without Summer opens with Tessa’s first journal entry “day 18 without Abby.” Eighteen days ago, Tessa’s four-year-old daughter Abby was killed in a hit-and-run right outside her preschool. Tessa can’t move on, and doesn’t really want to. She seeks refuge in Abby’s room, where she holds on to the vestiges of her daughter’s short life.
Keeping the diary was her therapist Celia’s idea. We learn from the narration that uncovers Celia’s story that in addition to helping to sort out other people’s problems, she has to deal with the strife in her own home — trying to make a life with her new husband and teenage son, whose loyalties remain firmly with his father.
Life Without Summer by Lynne Griffin is a lovely, lovely book. It’s sad, yes, and so hard to confront every mother’s worst nightmare.
But Griffin manages to make Tessa real — feisty, smart, and somewhat fragile as a result of her circumstances. Celia is equally enigmatic — quiet, caring, unpredictable. The story moves away from a complete tragedy as we are pulled into Tessa’s investigation to find out who the driver of the car that killed her daughter was.
As the novel unfolds, we wonder at the hints of the commonality of these two women. As I read, I wondered who was actually in the most dire situation. Strike that — of course losing a child is far far worse, but the point is that as we delve into the lives of people we realize that everyone is dealing with some sort of private or public grief.
I really enjoyed this book. I know that some of you avoid novels focused on a dead mother or dead child, but this one resonated with me.
Managing Editor Jennifer Donovan also blogs at Snapshot about life with her tween daughter and preschool son.
This sounds like a good book, but I am not sure that I could read it right now, as my son is four and I would probably cry all the way through it!