VERONICA’S GRAVE: A DAUGHTER’S MEMOIR by Barbara Donsky Review

ABOUT VERONICA’S GRAVE: A DAUGHTER’S MEMOIR

When young Barbara Bracht’s mother disappears from her life (no one tells her that she has died), she is left a confused child whose blue-collar father is intent upon erasing any memory of his dead wife. Forced to keep the secret of her mother’s existence from her brother, Bracht struggles to keep from being crushed under the weight of family secrets as she comes of age and strives to educate herself despite her father’s stance against women’s education—a journey that culminates in a visit to her mother’s grave nearly twenty years after her death.

Narrated in a precocious, fiercely intelligent, and compelling voice, Veronica’s Grave” A Daughter’s Memoir is a heartrending story about the psychological cost of families who keep secrets—and the importance of pursuing one’s dreams and passions.

Barbara Donsky, a reading specialist with a former private practice for children in Oyster Bay, New York, served for many years as president and capital campaign coordinator of the Boys and Girls Club of Oyster Bay-East Norwich. A magna cum laude graduate of Hunter College, with an MS from C. W. Post, Long Island University and an EdD from Hofstra University, her publications include Trends in Written Composition in Elementary Schools in the United States, 1890 -1960, named dissertation of the year at Hofstra University, and articles in educational journals. Her short story, “What’s the Matter with Harry?” was also published in a The Naples Review in Florida. She lives with her husband in New York, where she writes a weekly blog, Desperately Seeking Paris.

My Review:
This book asks a great question. How far would you go to prove your memories of your mother to your younger brother? I am the youngest of four, and I hear stories all the time, but my mom and dad have also told them to me. To not be able to grieve is devastating, never mind being too young to understand why. This is a very moving book about a young child, and her coming of age. During a time when women were not viewed equal to men. The idea of family secrets is not new, everyone has secrets. However it is how we grow with them that defines who we are. The end of this book is about finally deciding to go to Veronica's grave. I had a roller coaster of feelings. I am giving this book a 5/5. I was given a copy to review, however all opinions are my own.