One-sentence summary: Three sisters and their mother deal with the sudden coma of their abusive father/husband in different ways as they learn the tragedies of hiding the truth from their closest friends and family.
B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 8
Our favorite thing about it: The women’s stories were mesmerizing and seemed real.
Our least favorite thing about it: Everyone’s unwillingness to tell the truth to ANYONE was very frustrating, although likely very realistic.
Main Topics of Discussion: Abuse, Childhood, Parents/Children, Honesty, Relationships, Marriage, Parenting, Indian culture, Counseling/Therapy
Our favorite quote: “Even though not every story ends with a happy ending or begins with tragedy, along the way there are moments of both. And those moments don’t define you or even break you— they are simply parts of the whole.”
Notes: We really liked this book because all four women had such interesting, although sad, stories to tell. Their lives, their pasts, and their present situation were all really engaging. Here are some of the things we discussed:
- We were all frustrated by how many secrets were withheld by every single one of the women. It became tiresome. But we did recognize that culture and the abuse they suffered probably make this very common
- By keeping their secrets, the unknowingly allowed the cycle of abuse to continue through the daughter/granddaughter
- It was interesting how each of the daughters’ abuse manifested itself differently in their lives. ALL of their relationships were messed up or touched by it, though.
- In a way, we felt like reading this book was a bit like watching a train wreck…we couldn’t look away from the tragedy. And some of it was wanting so badly to see how it turned out for them all.
- We almost felt a physical relief when the women started telling the truth and experiencing even small amounts of healing and freedom from that in the end.
- This was one time that we unashamedly were hoping for a happy/hopeful ending…and were so glad when we got it. The book would have been way too depressing without it.
- The father ran the gamut of abuse – but the emotional abuse seemed to leave the most scars.
Memorable Meeting Moments: Lindsay had lots of funny political memes hanging up around the dinner table for us to enjoy. She also set us a very patriotic table in commemoration of the crazy political season.
What We Ate: Lindsay made us spring rolls with dipping sauce, and baked turmeric chicken with rice. We also had cherry pie from Dara for dessert.
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