WHILE I WAS GONE by Sue Miller

Finished Th 5/19/16

Read over half of the novel in a six hour marathon from 6pm to midnight after the hernia surgery

"While I Was Gone" was an Oprah's Book Club pick in 2000. I think that all of Oprah's picks are worth a look.

Miller has taught creative writing classes at Smith College, Amherst, Tufts, MIT, and Boston University.


Grabbed from amazon books- Publishers Weekly-

"The shadowy and inexorable nemesis of past secrets to a reclaimed life, and the inability even of those who are intimates to really know one another, are poignant themes in Miller's resonant fifth novel. Narrator Jo Becker, now a veterinarian married to a minister in a small Massachusetts town, was once a runaway bride who assumed a false name and lived with other disaffected '60s bohemians in a group house in Cambridge. Her special friend in the house was sweet-spirited and generous Dana Jablonski, whose shocking?and unsolved?murder broke up the group and left Jo with unresolved questions about her own identity. She manages to ignore the memories of that time until, almost three decades later, one of the former housemates, Eli Mayhew, moves to her town. Eli, now a distinguished research scientist, provides a revelation that acts as the catalyst provoking Jo to face her guilt about her past behavior?and to act impulsively once again. Her moral conundrum occasions a heartrending change in her heretofore strong marriage and undermines her relationship with her three grown daughters. As usual, Miller (The Good Mother; Family Pictures) renders the details of quotidian domesticity with bedrock veracity and a sensitivity to minute calibrations of family dynamics, especially the nuances of sibling rivalry. But while the pacing, tone and measured exposition are handled with masterly skill, the way in which Jo's decision to make amends for her past rebounds on her present life seems staged and convoluted, since her husband and children seem to think that retribution for a murder should take second place to their own emotional needs. That cavil aside, Miller's narrative is a beautifully textured picture of the psychological tug of war between finding integrity as an individual and satisfying the demands of spouse, children and community."

Jo has two twins that are radically different. Nora is a suburban mother and Cass plays in a punk rock band. They love each other like sisters and hate each other like enemies.

Daniel, Jo's second husband, delivers a remarkable sermon about grief and loss. A young child who loses their parent might be in a better position, psychologically than a sibling who is too young to understand. At least the older one has the memories.  Memory is a major theme in the book.

Interesting Mouth-to- Mouth resuscitation;  Tries to administer 'the breath of life' but cheek is deeply cut and punctured. Dana's murder is based on a real incident.

I'm not sure a person can redeem themselves from murder. Eli feels that the good that he has accomplished erases his grisly deed.

I'd like to read more by Sue Miller, and