Amanda was adopted as a baby, but she had no idea that she had an older brother Dennis, who died years ago. In need of connection to her past, she travels to the remote Oregon town where he drowned when he was nine.
Seeing the memorial the community put up after he was lost to the ocean prompts Amanda to find out what happened to him. She meets Larry, a retired, widowed police officer, who wants to help Amanda find answers.
They find out that Dennis was living in a home for disturbed boys from the time he was four. While the home had at one point been well-regarded, the boys were subjected to a controversial and dangerous form of treatment, and several boys disappeared. The home is now in ruins, and those still around to remember things are fairly reluctant to share any details. And someone will stop at nothing to make sure secrets stay secret.
“They say inchoate memory, formed before language, is the worst of all, because it flies like bats in your bones: you cannot heal from what you cannot voice.”
The book shifts between past and present, following Dennis’ time in the home and Amanda and Larry’s search for information. This book made me cry—definitely check trigger warnings because it packs a powerful punch. But out of the sadness comes hope.
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