Heather’s Bookshelf: Pocketful of Poseys
Author: Thomas Reed
Released: 09/19/23
Genre: Adult Literary Fiction
“They sat that way for fifteen minutes, Grace with her hand on Cinny’s knobby shoulder, Brian holding her hand. Cinny’s breathing stopped completely. And then, there it was again. Twice. Both times it started back up as though she’d surfaced from a deep dive without a second to spare.”
“Pocketful of Poseys” introduces fraternal twins, Grace and Brian, as they come together to support their dying mother, Cinny. She’s been dealing with Parkinson’s disease and not responding well to the meds. She believes hospice is her best option and her children support her in her decision.
Before she passes, Cinny expresses one last wish in the form of several notes each leading to a place she and her late husband shared in the past. She wants her kids and their families to spread her and their father’s ashes in those places as they travel around to destinations near and far.
Grace and Brian are now in their forties and with very different lives than either could imagine. As they set out to keep their mother’s dying wish, they have to face their pasts (the good and the tragic) if they are going to be able to move forward with their futures.
Trigger Warning: adult language, sexual references, illness and death, reference to abortion, reference to sexual assault
Overall, I really enjoyed this tale. The story is told through the eyes of several of the characters- past and present. This allows for development of the main characters without having to utilize a lot of conversations recounting what happened in the past or guessing at motivations and backgrounds of characters. It also provides some suspense for the main/current timeline as to what is occurring and what Cinny had in mind for her family. The author does a nice job in connecting emotion to Cinny in a small amount of time so that you truly feel it when she passes. It’s an emotional scene and very well written. When it comes to Grace and Brian, they are also well-developed and their connections to each other and their families draw you more into their characters. As far as their families, I absolutely could not stand Grace’s husband Jack in the beginning of the book. He came off as a superficial jerk only rivaled by Ella’s ex’s selfishness. But as the book continued, he grew on me. I also really enjoyed Sage, her power and confidence in herself. By the end of the book I really felt as though I had become part of this family. There are some intense and dark conversations in this story including adultery, sexual assault, abortion, and death and the author does a great job in covering it all without it feeling forced or flippant. Of the locations visited, I have personally been to about half and the author did a great job in describing those I have been to, so I’m sure the rest were the same. The pacing of the story is steady and I found wanting to know what happened in CInny’s letters kept me up reading a little later than I should. The ending was satisfying, though a couple notes felt a little open ended. I would have really enjoyed an epilogue including what happened to these characters in a year’s timeframe, but overall I really loved following them on their journey.
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
A character-driven, family forward tale with some dark topics, but a clear underlying theme of love.
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Check out my interview with Thomas Reed
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