The Language Of Sisters Part 28

David slammed the bathroom door behind him. He looked in the mirror and saw an old man. He was twenty-nine years old and his face was haggard and lined. His dark hair was a wild, matted mess around his head. After four days without sleep, he looked like a corpse.

"David?" Lydia stood outside the bathroom door. Her voice was m.u.f.fled.

"What." David stated it rather than asked.

"It's getting worse."

"What's getting worse?" he asked her, knowing full well what she meant. He wanted her to say it aloud. Wanted her to tell him to leave. If she did, maybe he'd have the courage to do it.

"The ... cycles," she said. "How quickly you move up through the highs and slip back down. The doctors said this might happen. They said if you didn't stay on your meds-"

"I know what they f.u.c.king said!" David snapped. "Don't you think I know? I'm the one they talk to."

She sighed. "They talk to me, too. When you're strapped down to a bed having sedatives shot into your arm, they're talking to me. They told me it's possible this could keep getting worse and worse if you don't control it." Her voice elevated and then caught in her throat. "I don't want Eden to see this. I don't think she'll survive."

David turned around and pressed his forehead against the door, holding on to the handle. He wanted to let her in. He wanted to have her take him in her arms and hold him the way she used to hold him. back when they first met. back when his mind was still his own. "What won't she survive?" he said. His voice was very small.

"You, David. I don't think she'll survive you."

Advance Praise for Outside the Lines.

"Like a gorgeous dark jewel, Hatvany's exquisitely rendered novel explores the tragedy of a mind gone awry, a tangled bond of father and daughter, and the way hope and love sustain us. This novel does what the best fiction does: it makes us see and experience the world differently."

-Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of Pictures of You.

"This extraordinary novel about a woman's search for her lost father-and herself-touched me deeply. With her trademark insight and compa.s.sion for her characters, Amy Hatvany has written a beautiful and moving book. Were there Oscars for novels, Outside the Lines would sweep the categories."

-Melissa Senate, author of The Love G.o.ddess' Cooking School.

"Outside the Lines offers a fascinating look at the interior of a mental illness-the exuberance and self-loathing, creativity and destruction that then reverberate against the lives of family and loved-ones. Hatvany's storyline is compelling, weaving back and forth between father and daughter, patiently explaining as it asks all the important questions."

-Juliette Fay, author of Shelter Me

"Outside the Lines is a tender and lovely novel that explores the boundaries of love and how we break those boundaries in its name. It's sad and funny, heartbreaking and heartwarming. You'll want to read this book slowly. When you're finished, you'll want to read it again."

-Rebecca Rasmussen, author of The Bird Sisters

Praise for Best Kept Secret "Amy Hatvany grabs you from page one and doesn't let you go. I was transfixed by Cadence and her heart-wrenching dilemma. The writing is visceral, the problems are real, and there are no clear solutions. You won't want to put it down."

- Emily Giffin, New York Times bestselling author of Something Borrowed and Heart of the Matter

"Best Kept Secret is touching, hopeful, and so real. Amy Hatvany writes with depth and compa.s.sion about a secret many have kept as she offers the miracle chance of starting over ... I loved these characters and this novel."

-Luanne Rice, New York Times bestselling author of The Silver Boat

"Rarely do I find a book that stays with me long after I've finished it, but this is definitely one. The honest portrayal of the fallible but oh-so-human Cadence hit me straight in the gut. The writing is warm, witty, thoughtful and heartbreaking, and that ending-I'm still thinking about it.">

- Stefanie Wilder-Taylor, author of Sippy Cups Are Not for Chardonnay

"Haunting, hopeful, and beautifully written, Best Kept Secret takes a brave and honest look at the slippery slope of addiction and the strength it takes to recover. I couldn't put this book down, and I can't stop thinking about it."

-Allie Larkin, bestselling author of Stay

"This gripping novel probes the darker sides of motherhood and family secrets, and proves that redemption is never out of our reach. A captivatingly honest book that you won't soon forget."

-Lisa Tucker, bestselling author of Once Upon a Day

"Best Kept Secret is one of the most compelling books I've read in years. This could be any woman's secret-be it your sister, your best friend, or the mother you see on the playground. Amy Hatvany's heartfelt, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting novel will start an important dialogue about the secrets we keep ... and it could even save lives."

-Sarah Pekkanen, author of The Opposite of Me and Skipping a Beat

"Amy Hatvany's powerful language, delicious imagery, and tender treatment of motherhood is a love letter to women everywhere, who try and sometimes fail, but who always get back up again. She is a gifted writer, whose compa.s.sion and clear-headed view of addiction and recovery are inspirational and empowering."

-Rachael Brownwell, author of Mommy Doesn't Drink Here Anymore.

"On the surface, Best Kept Secret might simply seem like another story of addiction. And, indeed, it is a raw examination of a woman in crisis, an honest and aching portrait of an addict who almost loses everything when her life spirals out of control. However, what makes this novel entirely original is its fearless exploration of the place where addiction and motherhood intersect. What made me love Cadence was not her struggle with alcohol, but her fierce love for her child. This novel is a testament to the power of a mother's love. Hatvany goes places in this novel that other, less courageous, writers might fear to tread. And I suspect this story will resonate with more women, more mothers, than this author might ever know."

-T. Greenwood, author of The Hungry Season and This Glittering World.

"Cadence could be you, your neighbor, your friend. At her core, she is the mother we all try to be. Hatvany's novel is a gripping story of pain, love and renewal, one that leaves you cheering for the imperfect heroine who in some ways represents us all."

-Kaira Rouda, author of Real You Incorporated and a novel Here, Home, Hope.

About the Author.

SHERRIE STOCKLAND.

Amy Hatvany is the author of four novels, including Outside the Lines and Best Kept Secret. She lives in Seattle with her family.

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About Was.h.i.+ngton Square Press.

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