The Berry Pickers

a difficult, but heart-felt story about family, identity, loss, and reunion. i wouldn't suggest the audiobook (the narrators are passionate but felt inexperienced), though the story is worth the read.

That’s why I found it strange that no word exists for a parent who loses a child. If children lose their parents, they are orphans. If a husband loses his wife, he’s a widower. But there’s no word for a parent who loses a child. I’ve come to believe that the event is just too big, too monstrous, too overwhelming for words. No word could ever describe the feeling, so we leave it unsaid.

The first half of this dragged a little bit, but the last half was really good!

Very slow-paced, but interesting if that makes sense. I found Ruthie / Norma very relatable for personal reasons, and that may be the reason I was interested.

One also couldn’t help but notice the racism and injustice that was prevalent during the time this was set in—it can be a bit hard to take.

Set in Maine.
Trafficking.
Drinking / alcoholism.
What seems to be a narcissistic mother.
Secrets. So many secrets.
Pregnancy loss.
Good writing.
Long-lost family, reunited.


Overall:
It didn’t get ‘miss it /can’t put it down’ until about 13 chapters in, don’t go into this expecting ‘riveting’, however it IS good, IMO.

Wow. I was really surprised by this one, how tragic and emotional it was. If you don’t enter into this book thinking it will be a mystery, I think you’ll enjoy it even more. The tension and suspense of the dual narratives and waiting for them to finally collide was soooo well done, and I found myself at home among the characters. I found it hard to love Joe but that’s my only knock. And really that just proves this book did a good job drawing out the emotions.

An interesting perspective highlighting a fictional story surrounding MMIW. Please read with care as the story centers the kidnapping of a child.