As the women (or “mothers”) of the Upper Room, a church at the heart of the Black community in Oceanside, CA look on, Nadia Turner, reeling from the recent death of her mother, drifts from the school where she’s previously been so successful, into the arms of Luke Sheppard, the preacher’s son. They watch as she devolves into a lost soul, wrangling with her grief, unraveling the ties with her friends and even with her father with whom she’d been close. When a crisis arises between Luke and herself, it seems to create a hole in her heart that she spends the next years of her life seeking to fill – and burning bridges and breaking hearts in her wake.
What is most unique about this book is the voice created by “The Women.” We are told this story by the community of women who have been watching Nadia and Luke since they were young, as so often occurs in tightly-knit communities, where everyone knows everyone else’s business – or at least believe they do. The tone is, in this way, kept lighter, and at the same time more familiar. I believe no matter your heritage, we can all relate to that sisterhood of women in some segment of our lives who maintain a running commentary about us: who we’re becoming and what we are thought to be doing – and judging us without trying to appear as though they are doing so. I could not help smiling throughout these sections.
And thank goodness for these sections because the main thread of the story is quite sad. Nadia’s journey is tragic, her life having been pierced by so many losses which she was unable to process with anyone who could be helpful to her. Because her father was so deeply entrenched in his own grief, muddling his way through, he was unavailable to her, leaving her to cope in the only way she could – looking for love and affection from whomever she could find it. She continued to be a lonely figure, unable to fully give of herself because her “self” had become so deeply wounded.
This is an important story, told in a uniquely creative way – an absolutely worthy read!
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