The Glass Eye: A memoir is an exceptional book. The author gives a brutally honest and intimate look at her life; her grief at the loss of her father, her compulsion with finding out about the dead half-sister she was named after, her family, her madness.

Interesting throughout, it was sometimes difficult to read, "seeing" her madness as those around her do, but which she passes off as strictly grief. I admire the author's willingness to show her vulnerability, and her resiliency.

This book will draw a lot of conversation.

Many thanks to NetGalley and publisher Tin House Books for sending me a copy to review.

The Glass Eye is an incisively written memoir about one woman's struggle to wrestle with her family's history, particularly that of her father's, and her strange, sad competition with her father's other daughter, who died tragically in a car accident. You can never win when you wrestle with a ghost.

Vanasco is clearly a talented writer, but the book struggles to justify its length. This material--and Vanasco's keen, quick prose--would have killed as an essay. The longer the book goes on, the less potent the heartache becomes.

The father-daughter bond and the devastating effects of the loss of a parent are the focal points of Jeannie Vanasco's poignant memoir, The Glass Eye, As the only child of older parents (whose union is a second marriage for each of them), Jeannie is daddy's little girl who strives for perfection and the approval of her doting father. Her perfect world first becomes unsettled when at eight years old Jeannie learns that her father has four daughters from his previous marriage, and that she is the namesake of her half-sister who died in a car accident years before Jeannie's birth.

As she matures, Jeannie is consumed by her fixation with her half-sister, who she tries to learn more about and measure up to, and her growing despair over her aging father's deteriorating health. Her obsession and perfectionism begin to take a serious toll on her mental health, and when her father dies shortly after she leaves for college, Jeannie experiences an all-consuming sadness that brings her to her knees. Her subsequent emotional and mental state are fueled by her desire to pay tribute to her father by writing a book, a promise Jeannie made to him on his deathbed. The Glass Eye is that book. And although it is not the manuscript Vanasco originally envisioned for or about her father, it is the book she was destined to write.

In vivid detail, the author recounts her lengthy bouts over the next several years of crippling grief, which exacerbate her underlying mental illness; her manic behavior; and the ensuing search for effective medical treatment. Her vulnerability and distress are laid bare upon the page as Jeannie struggles to deal with overwhelming circumstances. Her account is at times harrowing, yet it also embodies loving memories, supportive relationships, and the will to survive.

Perhaps the most moving homage that can be paid to departed loved ones is acknowledging their meaningful impact on our lives and the pain of their loss. The author expresses such sentiments in an honest, open, and brave manner. Readers drawn to stories about the enduring power of love and family as well as those touched by grief or chronic illness will find much to appreciate in this intensely personal book.

Jeannie Vanasco's first book is a tribute to her father and a long dark trip for her. It span from a promise she made to her dying father before she was forced back to school thinking she would be back in a few days for the weekend to see him again, only to find out he died while she was on the train back to school, and that sparks her long dark journey of with her own demons and some of her dads before this books will end, but will Jeannie with a "I" ever win over her grief and the demons that haunt her from a lifetime ago.

This was a really good book, by debut book author Jeannie Vanasco. She bares all to tell her story, the story of her dad, and the story of their family. This is a no hold barred as she tells all about her illness as well and how deep grief can run for daddy's little girl. This is a wonderful story I hope its the one everyone will read this year.