Crow Lake by Mary Lawson

Most people's lives run a normal course.  We move through our youth with normal growing pains but nothing too overwhelming.  We walk through adulthood with trials and strains, but generally with little tragedy that is unexpected.  We reach our senior years and reflect back on our lives and for the most part feel a sense of satisfaction and even pride in our achievements.  We know, however, that not every life unfolds without problems.  Some people have tragic stories to tell.  Mary Lawson's, Crow Lake,  is such a tragic tale.  What began as a normal childhood is shattered into near chaos for Kate, the narrator of the novel.  When Kate is 7 years old her parents are killed in a car accident and she and her three sibling's life path is forever altered.  The story of Kate's life is framed by her two brothers and her baby sister but also by her small Canadian farm community.  Kate's trauma colors her every decision.  She clings desperately to her brother, Matt, and bases her life choices on her belief in the grand plan that Matt designed for their lives. Unfortunately, when this "plan" falls apart, Kate pulls away from her family believing that she can never truly connect with them again because they have all been left behind in their small world and she has gone on to earn an education and position in the outside world.  In the end she discovers that her life and her family's lives have actually become "normal" despite the trauma of their early years.  The tragedy of their youth did not in the end destroy them. Life has a way of working out the problems that seem to be insurmountable.  Lawson deftly draws us to the realization that we can make the choice to accept the ups and downs that we encounter, that we can find joy in our circumstances and that we can love the time we have with our loved ones instead of struggling to find answers to questions that will certainly confront us.  It seems in the end, she wants us to choose happiness and let go of what we cannot control.  Good advice for us all!