I know what the world wants: It wants me to heal. But to heal I would have to forget. – Mary Beth Latham
By all appearances the Latham family is a happy, successful, average American family. The father, Glen, has a thriving ophthalmology practice. Ruby, the oldest of three siblings, is a popular girl entering her senior year of high school.
Twins Alex and Max are freshmen; Alex a star at sports, Max more inclined to artistic endeavors. And overseeing the whole brood is Mary Beth, who somehow manages to keep both the family and a successful landscaping business on track. It’s snapshot of picture-perfect suburbia.
Except things aren’t perfect. Ruby announces, seemingly out of nowhere, that she is breaking up with her longtime boyfriend, a young man who has become like a member of the family. Even more concerning, Max slowly starts to withdraw. Concerned he is slipping into depression, Mary Beth focuses all her attention on helping him through his difficulties.
So complete is her focus on Max that Mary Beth never senses the storm gathering around the Latham family, and she’s completely blindsided by a devastating act of violence that forever changes their lives. (more…)
