{"product_id":"9781736795477","title":"Reading Jane","description":"\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri;\nmso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-themecolor:text1\"\u003eAfter the\ncalculated suicide of Susannah Kennedy’s domineering and narcissistic mother,\nSusannah Kennedy grapples with the ties between mothers and daughters and the\nchoices parents make in this gripping memoir that shows what freedom looks like\nwhen we choose to examine the uncomfortable past.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;\ncolor:black;mso-themecolor:text1\"\u003e\u003co:p\u003e\u003c\/o:p\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri;\nmso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-themecolor:text1\"\u003eJane is to\nthe world a charismatic personality—opinionated, an inner-city teacher and\npublic activist, a lover of Italy, proud and successful—who thrives on a\ncarefully crafted life narrative. Susannah is her beautiful only daughter, her\nintended protégé.\u003co:p\u003e\u003c\/o:p\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri;\nmso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-themecolor:text1\"\u003eAll through\nSusannah’s childhood, Jane settles once per day to chronicle her life. In those\nyears of magnetic twosomeness, “Mommy, can I read your diaries?” is a frequent\nquestion. Jane starts off saying “Some day” and then she changes to “When you\nare the age I was when I wrote them,” then, later, it becomes “Maybe,” then\n“No, probably never.” \u003co:p\u003e\u003c\/o:p\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri;\nmso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-themecolor:text1\"\u003eThe diaries\nrecede. Susannah grows up. But then Jane at 75, healthy and fit, chooses\nsuicide, insisting it would be better for everyone this way. That controlling assessment\nis wrong from the moment Susannah hears the news and has to identify the\nbody. \u003co:p\u003e\u003c\/o:p\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri;\nmso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-themecolor:text1\"\u003eAs someone\nwho has always sensed the stricter, darker truth, and fought to resist the\ncontrol imposed on her by her mother’s seductive tale, she actively resists\nreading the 45 years of diaries her mother left behind. When she finally dares\nto “read” Jane, it’s like unlatching Pandora’s Box. \u003co:p\u003e\u003c\/o:p\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri;\nmso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-themecolor:text1\"\u003eFor a year,\nSusannah reads, twisting and turning to the truths she uncovers, comparing what\nshe remembers against the strange pull of her mother’s public tale. This\nprocess is accompanied by physical symptoms, each memory encased in her body.\nAnd then she uncovers yet another secret, one that redefines her mother\nforever. \u003co:p\u003e\u003c\/o:p\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri;\nmso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-themecolor:text1\"\u003eAt last\nSusannah is able to separate, heal and embrace her own story.\u003co:p\u003e\u003c\/o:p\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Susannah Kennedy","offers":[{"title":"Sibylline Press |  Paperback \/ softback | Trade paperback (US) |  2023-09-15","offer_id":44230082953471,"sku":"9781736795477","price":28.95,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0329\/9075\/7001\/files\/BNCImageAPI_7068074a-f97c-4d14-b868-0c604ff8fe64.jpg?v=1693003458","url":"https:\/\/riverbookshop.com\/products\/9781736795477","provider":"River Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}