Between Here and April

by Deborah Copaken Kogan and Deborah Copaken

Book Overview

"A haunting work of ambition and dimension."--Meg Wolitzer, author of The Female Persuasion

When a deep-seated memory suddenly surfaces, Elizabeth Burns becomes obsessed with the long-ago disappearance of her childhood friend April Cassidy. Driven to investigate, Elizabeth discovers a thirty-five-year-old newspaper article revealing the details that had been hidden from her as a child--shocking revelations about April's mother,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1565129326
• ISBN13: 9781565129320
• Release Date: November 2009
• Publisher: Algonquin Books
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.4" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

Uncomfortable -- But A Great Book

It wasn't all that long ago when the field of psychiatry didn't recognize post partum depression and often prescribed Valium for depression. Today we know that post partum depression is real. We've seen a few famous cases where mothers have killed themselves and/or their children. We also know that there are better drugs than Valium to treat depression. This book recounts the story of a mother who ends up wanting to know what happened to a friend of hers in elementary school. What follows is a gripping story that brings in the topics that I've mentioned. Moreover in trying to find the truth of what happened to her friend many years ago, the main heroine of the story finds out much about herself, her feelings as a mother and her marriage. This is one of those books that isn't all the comfortable to read. There are times where you kind of know what's going to happen; you know you aren't going to like it, but you read on much like watching a train wreck. The main reason you read on is because the book is well-written. The pace of the writing makes it hard to put down and you like the characters she has created. Most importantly, there is a positive feeling about reading this book at the end. It is worth reading and chances are you will found yourself gripped story while learning a few things.

Can't put it down

I was headed out of town for the weekend and wanted to pick up a new book, since I was nearly done with another book I was reading. I saw the author on The Today Show, describing her novel as a fictional story based on a real-life incident that happened to her when she was young. By the end of the segment I knew I had to buy this book before my trip. I'm happy I did, because I had plenty of time to read between delays at airports and sitting on runways waiting to take off. I started and finished the book in one weekend! Even at my destination, I found myself trying to keep myself awake to squeeze in another chapter or two before I dozed off at night. The story is gripping because it is based on tragic actual events, but you're not quite sure what is real and what was created to help support the story. The only criticism I have is the doom-and-gloom portrayal of mothers. Adele's mother, Adele, Lizzie's mother, Lizzie, and even the random mother spotted in the kitchen of the new home built on the ground where the tragic incident took place are all described as depressed, numb shells of a person. It was definitely important to the story line, but after a while it became too predictable and somewhat unbelievable (from over-kill) when it seemed like every woman in the story was depressed and seemed to hate and/or resent her life. But, other than that, this was an absolutely wonderful and beautifully written book. No one knows exactly what happened that day in the car, but the author puts her own touching spin on it that ends this depressing and tragic tale on a heart-warming and hopeful note.

A provocative page-turner

"With all of its invisible frustrations and sacrifices, motherhood was also a remarkable mosaic-in-progress, with...moments, like handmade tiles, painstakingly inlaid: up close, just a jumble of colors, haphazardly placed in no particular order; from ten feet back, so beautiful you could cry." The problem, as Elizabeth Burns discovers during her journey into the dark, messy, complicated heart of motherhood, is that few if any mothers are able to achieve that distance, see that beauty, when they're deep in the midst of their child-rearing years. Elizabeth is, at least on the surface, a successful and happy wife and mother to two young girls. She and her family live in New York City, her daughters are happy and healthy, her husband is involved with work he loves, and Elizabeth has even managed to maintain some semblance of a career while raising the little ones. But, behind closed doors, her identity as a wife and mother is in crisis. Elizabeth feels torn between fulfilling her daughters' emotional needs by staying home with them and pursuing her former career as an international journalist, especially when her old boss and an old lover try to convince her to return to Iraq on assignment. She is growing increasingly frustrated with the long hours her husband spends at work and his kinky sexual demands at home. And she has started having these fainting spells... With the help of a psychiatrist, Elizabeth realizes that her panic attacks and fainting spells might have something to do with the mysterious disappearance of April Cassidy, who was her best friend when the girls were first graders in 1972. At the time, six-year-old Elizabeth had only a vague idea of what had happened to April; as an adult, however, she becomes haunted by the truth of what actually transpired. April and her older sister were killed by their troubled mother Adele, who also committed suicide. Elizabeth decides to delve into the unknown story of April's death, talking with friends and neighbors, and eventually probing Adele's own psyche by reading transcripts of her sessions with a psychiatrist. Ostensibly, she is making a documentary film about the event, but as Elizabeth learns more about Adele's tragic existence, she wonders if the story she's uncovering might not be her own story as well. Deborah Copaken Kogan, a former photojournalist and mother of three, packs a lot into this provocative page-turner. Most of all, readers will be struck by the ignorance, silence and denial that surrounded women's issues, particularly postpartum depression, in the 1970s --- and by how far we still have to go in learning about and de-stigmatizing them today. Kogan writes about issues many mothers have been affected by but have been too ashamed to discuss. With the novel's outstanding book club potential, however, Kogan's debut goes a long way toward bringing these issues out in the open once and for all. --- Reviewed by Norah Piehl

Beautifully Written!

Elizabeth Burns is a modern day woman living in New York City who works from home as a free-lance journalist. Before her marriage and children she was a war journalist with a promising career. Currently she's married and takes care of her two young daughters, Daisy and Tess. The book opens with Elizabeth attending the play "Medea" (watch for parallels) just as her husband arrives late to the play, which leads to the discovery that her husband, Mark, is a work alcoholic. Elizabeth begins to have fainting spells and as she and doctors try to find the answer to why, many memories come back. The biggest one is why when she was in 2nd grade did her best friend's (April) mother kill herself and her two daughters. Elizabeth begins using her journalist skills to find out what really happened to cause a mother to kill her own children. Perhaps if Elizabeth can answer that question she can save her marriage and herself. This is definitely a book of self-discovery. I could hardly put the book down it was so wonderful. I felt as though I knew Elizabeth and was rooting for her to find herself and solve the mystery throughout the book. Follow her as she interviews people about a 35-year-old murder/suicide; has memories of her former life; and tries to keep it all together for herself, her husband, and her kids. You won't be disappointed!

Absolutely Wonderful and Terrifying....

I very rarely read a book in one sitting but this book grabbed me and didn't let go. Elizabeth Burns starts to remember her friend's mysterious disappearance when they were children and it unleashes a torrent of memories within her herself and her hometown. The subject matter is true, but as the author says, the "why" is what is still left to fiction. A unflinching look at motherhood and those emotions that go with it are stripped bare and shown with terrifying reality. This book not only explores aspects of motherhood, it also provides a look back at "modern" medicine's myths regarding woman's health issues. It's horrifying to realize that April's mother was actually under a doctor's care when this act happened, and that so little was done to help her at the time. With references to Susan Smith and Andrea Yates, "Between Here and April" sweeps you into to the dark world of depression. I found Elizabeth's own story at times to be intrusive to the tale of April, but didn't put me off finishing. I found myself examining not only my feelings about motherhood but that of my mother and my grandmother. Simply captivating.