Bastards

A stirring, vividly told story of a young woman's quest to find the family she lost.' Peter Balakian Born into poverty, Mary Hall and her older brother Jacob started out life with parents who, in Mary's words, were 'great at making babies, but not so great at holding on to them.' After being deserted by their father, Mary's mum took the two of them to live in low - income housing, where they struggled to make ends meet. In the years that followed, Mary and Jacob watched as their mother...
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A stirring, vividly told story of a young woman's quest to find the family she lost.' Peter Balakian Born into poverty, Mary Hall and her older brother Jacob started out life with parents who, in Mary's words, were 'great at making babies, but not so great at holding on to them.' After being deserted by their father, Mary's mum took the two of them to live in low - income housing, where they struggled to make ends meet. In the years that followed, Mary and Jacob watched as their mother gave away each of their newborn sisters. All told, there were seven children - Mary, Jacob, and five phantom sisters. Then, one day, Mary found herself sent away too. Mary got a new surname and a new life but she remained haunted by the past - by the sisters she hoped to find again, the mother who'd had to give her up and the father who'd left them. Mary was a college student by the time her sisters started getting back in touch with each other. They shared a surprising number of characteristics, not least quirky facial expressions. With each reunion Mary felt like her family was becoming closer to whole again. Moving, haunting, and at times wickedly funny, Bastards is a fascinating account of finding one's family and oneself.