Told in flashbacks and alternating voices, this story of family made me giddy, hope, cry, rejoice and mourn. It showed me how love grows and how it can wither, and how love cannot be enough. Rosie and Rex's romance was something I really enjoyed following, even though (view spoiler), and it was emotionally effective to weave the perspective of their daughter (and a little bit of their son's) in between. Powerful storytelling, great ensemble of characters, engaging plot. Would recommend to those who enjoy a moving, insightful read.

The tone of this novel is akin to a fairy tale and that took a bit of getting used to, but once I did, that tone was the perfect template for a tough story. The novel opens with Rex and Rosie's fairy tale first encounter, falling in love and getting married. Their world fell apart as Rosie's manic depressive personality shifts from manic to depressive and the marriage dissolves when she tries to manage it by self medicating with vicodin. A bit of a Grimm fairy tale. We ache for their daughter Willow whose fragile personality has troubling echoes of Rosie. The reader watches her suffer and watches her misunderstand her father's natural reserve as a lack of affection.

A hugely insightful and utterly absorbing. The ending is perfect.