Publishers Weekly (starred
review)
"…a fearless memoir of loss and grief…"
"...Rappaport weaves a stunning narrative of perspective, profound
sadness and unrelenting hope… She has also mapped an inspiring
course for anyone to dissect family dynamics and mental illness,
hoping to understand and, finally, accept."
Kay Redfield Jamison, Professor of Psychiatry, Johns
Hopkins School of Medicine; author of An Unquiet Mind
and Nothing Was the Same
"A powerful and eloquent book about loss and incomprehension, and
a unique journey of learning and reconciliation."
Lenore Terr, M.D., author of Magical Moments of
Change and Too Scared to
Cry
"If you looked at the trauma of a suicide as a rock thrown into a
family pool, you'd see circular ripples differently affecting each
part of that little body of water….In Her Wake reads like
a mystery, yet it leaves us with much, much more…an almost
firsthand knowledge of the power of psychic trauma."
Pete Earley, author of
Crazy
"Extraordinary….The constant in Rappaport's prose is her steadfast
refusal to sugarcoat and her fierce determination to find answers
to uncomfortable questions. A well-told story that is a testament
to the power of love tempered by heartache."
Marya Hornbacher, author of Wasted and
Madness
"A touching and insightful story of love, loss, and
healing."
Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, Emily Hargroves Fisher Professor
of Education, Harvard University; author of Balm in Gilead
and The Third Chapter
"With the eyes of a probing detective, the wisdom and
empathy of a clinician, and the yearning and love of a devoted
daughter, Rappaport traces the roots and remnants of her mother's
suicide. Blending honesty and delicacy, passion and restraint,
In Her Wake is riveting and revelatory reading."
Susanna Moore, author of In the Cut and
The Big Girls
"Rappaport writes of that mysterious and powerful force, the
mother, and the impossibility of fully knowing the truth about
her….She knows that the discovery of the past is never the end, but
the beginning of thought."
Linda T. Sanford, LICSW, author of Strong at the
Broken Places, co-author of Women and
Self-Esteem
"Beautifully written, In Her Wake should be required
reading for all of us in the helping professions."
Christopher Lukas, author of Blue Genes and
Silent Grief
"Rappaport looks back at her mother's suicide in order to find a
resting place for herself and her family; so they can go on, into
the future, with courage. I recognize her pain, and I salute her
achievement."
Michael Jellinek, Chief, Child Psychiatry Service,
Massachusetts General Hospital
"In Her Wake is as engaging as a well written novel, with
truths and insights that are meaningful to every family."
Alvin F. Poussaint, MD, Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard
Medical School and Judge Baker Children's Center; author
of Lay My Burden Down
"This inspiring book reaffirms the strength and resiliency of the
human spirit."
Perri Klass, author of The Mercy
Rule
"In Her Wake is a moving story of mother and daughter,
and the intimate echoes of family complications across the
generations; as Nancy learns more about the mother she never knew,
she also tells the story of her own journey and the story of a
troubled but fascinating family, and helps the reader understand
the twists and turns that love and loss can take."
Carla Fine, author of No Time to Say Goodbye
and Touched by Suicide
"In Her Wake speaks to all of us who have lost a loved
one to suicide and offers new and healing insights to a survivor's
journey. She helps us better navigate the maze that suicide leaves
as its legacy and comforts us with the knowledge that we are not
alone in our confusion and grief."