In Grace's Time - Book Review

The book, “In Grace's Time,” by Kathie Giorgio and published by Black Rose Writing is a fictional account of what far too many parents experience with the death of a child. It is a story of dealing with bereavement, blame, and the unending pain a parent feels when they lose a child.  How do you continue on after this kind of tragedy or is there no "moving on," or "getting over it." Is there simply no easy fix, no solution to that kind of heartache?

“In Grace's Time,”  is a story about a mother, Grace, who loses her son, Paul, one of her three children in a freak accident and has to learn to deal with the resulting pain and anguish.

The death of her son causes Grace to spiral out of control into a self-absorbed deep depression. She neglects her family to the point of living in filth and seems incapable of realizing how far she has fallen. The death of her son is not the only death that she is dealing with, she is also coping with the recent loss of her mother.

                To ease her grief Grace initially nails the curtains closed to block the view of where the accident had occurred.  To her dismay, her husband removes the curtains and then tries to steer her back from the brink of hysteria.  It's then we find out more about Grace’s mother, Mary, who fancied herself as some sort of witch.  Grace feels as if her home is haunted by the ghost of her son and mother and she realizes if she wants to heal, she must temporarily get away from what is left of her family. Her mother had saved some money for Grace and before she had died,  had given it to Grace to use for just this eventuality.  With the funds and the burning desire to escape her current situation, she decides to temporarily leave her home and see if distance can alleviate her pain.

                She pairs up with a Doll seller, Vergil who is gay and they roll cross country in a not so new Chrysler Newport. One of their interests is looking for deals at swap meets. These encounters introduce these two to many interesting people during their road trip.

 As the Chrysler Newport rolls across the countryside with Grace and Vergil, Giorgio delves deeper into the feelings of grief associated with losing a child. For most readers, I believe that Grace's story along with Virgil, Nick, JJ, and Mary will grab you by your heart and twist and pull until the very end of the book. Will Grace claw her way up from the depth of what she sees as unimaginable pain, suffering, and sorrow?  Has Grace gone for good? Will her time come to return home?  What happens along the way? Giorgio has done a fantastic job of breathing life into her characters, and all you have to do is read the book to find out how it ends.